Empire's Shadow
by banthapoodoo
Summary: In the Rise of the Rebellion, Prince Luke Organa works to help the fledgling alliance with his teacher and bodyguard, Ahsoka Tano.
1. Negotiations

The hum of the engines, ever-present, brought Luke Organa out of his meditation. It was the subtle shift as they dropped from lightspeed, in fact, that did the trick. The Riptide had a slight shift in the modulation in the engines when it dropped to sublight, something he had noticed the first time. It wasn't something he could ignore any more. He sighed, resigned to the fact that they were going to hit atmosphere in a few minutes.

The Riptide was nominally a courier craft. It had enough room for five crew, but for this mission, it was just him and the pilot.

Luke walked from the rear compartment towards the front of the ship, his boots tapping against the metal deck plating. He entered the cockpit, where his pilot, teacher, and protector was sitting.

"How does it look?" He asked as he fit into the copilot's seat. He checked the engines. Power was nominal. Systems looked good.

Ahsoka Tano smiled over at Luke. "Right on time. We're on course for Dac. The Mon Calamari delegation has sent us details. We're to meet in one of the orbital stations." She relaxed back against the pilot's chair for a moment. "How're you feeling? Ready to represent Alderaan?"

Luke nodded, summoning his control from his lessons. "Yes, Master Tano." He said, tucking an unruly lock of hair behind an ear.

She closed her eyes, as if taking a moment to compose herself. "How many times do I have to tell you not to use that title? The Jedi Order's long done."

Luke fidgeted with his tunic. "At least once more, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka snorted. "We're on approach to Dac's central shipyard." She gestured to the large artificial ring that surrounded the aquatic world. Luke watched as it grew larger and larger. The huge star liners that the Mon Calamari constructed seemed just tiny, insignificant fish among a much larger reef.

The docking procedure was routine as could be. By the time the docking had completed, they were situated in the shipyard's many hangar bays. Ahsoka grabbed a case, slinging it over her shoulder. She had to brush her montral to make sure it wasn't caught on the strap. "Come on, Your Worship. Let's get going."

Luke rose, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He went back to his quarters, grabbing the more formal of the coats. He checked his hair quickly, to make sure that the looked presentable. His father's voice rang in his head. In this instance, he was the voice of Alderaan.

Sixteen years old, and the voice of a planet. Luke wasn't sure he had heard of anything like that. He joined Ahsoka on the boarding ramp, descending on it as they walked into the hangar.

The hangar itself was warm and, surprisingly, damp. Most controlled environments preferred cold and dry air, keeping the atmosphere controlled at all times. Luke remembered reading up on Dac and its climate, and it made sense to him that the Mon Cal shipyards would have an internal atmosphere that would be comfortable to the workers.

The hangar itself held a number of the new Blade Wing fighters, enough for a squadron. Ahsoka caught his wandering eye, whispering. "Eyes up. Here comes the Admiral."

The door to the hangar opened, and in shuffled Gial Ackbar. The head of the Mon Calamari defense fleet, he wasn't a particular impressive figure. An average height, wearing a simple pair of trousers, a tunic, and vest. He bowed his head politely. "Prince Luke Organa, welcome to the Dac Orbital Shipyards. I am Admiral Gial Ackbar."

"Admiral," Luke began. "It's an honor to meet you. This is my protector, Ah-"

"Ahsoka Tano," Ackbar said, with something near haunting reverence. "Commander Tano, I-Well, I suppose it's not Commander any more, is it?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, Admiral. It's been a while since I've held any rank. I'm merely here as a bodyguard. Shall we get seated down before we get to business?"

"Of course, of course," Ackbar said. His voice was like someone gurgling, distorted slightly. Luke had to pay attention to him. Ackbar and his two aides led Luke and Ahsoka away from the hangar. Ackbar walked with a military clip, so much that Luke had to hurry just a little to keep up at times.

They reached the conference room, a white room with seats around a rounded table. As they sat, Luke asked. "You called her Commander Tano. You met her during the War?"

Ackbar's face twisted in a mockery of a human smile. "Indeed. Back then she was a Padawan."

Ahsoka took a seat in one of the chairs, folding her arms across her chest. "That was a very long time ago." She noted. "I'm just Prince Luke's bodyguard now."

"Indeed," Ackbar settled himself into one of the chairs, this one a levitating one that seemed to be specifically calibrated for him. "We are given to understand that the government of Alderaan, specifically that of House Organa, wishes to purchase ships from us."

"Yes, Admiral," Luke felt a mynock in his stomach, but he forced himself to concentrate. "The Alderaanian Defense Corps would like some more system patrol craft, and the Mon Cal ship yards are legendary for their excellent work."

Ackbar tilted his head to the side, something Luke knew to be akin to the raising of an eyebrow for a Mon Cal. "I was in the belief that Alderaan preferred Corellian models in their defense fleets." He folded webbed hands together. "Mon Cal ships are often..difficult for humans to use. Our physiology is quite different."

"We're aware of the usual design differences. However, with the Empire's tighter economic sanctions on Corellia, we are left with having to turn to newer sources for pirate discouragement."

"Could you not petition for an Imperial presence on Alderaan?" It needed to be said. It was due diligence on both of their parts.

Luke offered his most pleasant smile. "Admiral, the Empire has better things to do than patrol Alderaan." He pulled a datapad from his coat. "However, we would be willing to discuss sending a few human engineers to Dac so we can assist in making what patrol ships we commission to be more suitable for humans.

"Kuat is a lot closer to Alderaan." Ackbar noted.

That made Luke laugh, an honest sound that he couldn't help. "Kuati are arrogant and petty, generally with issues about their mothers. Besides, Alderaan appreciates style. A Kuat Drive Yards cruiser is one of the ugliest things in the galaxy."

"Don't let the Empire hear you say that." Ackbar laughed. "My, Ahsoka, you seem to have found yourself an interesting ward."

A knowing grin crossed her features. "You don't know the half of it."

* * *

Once they were back on the Riptide, they powered up the encrypted holocomm. It took several minutes for the system to power up, search for a signal they could leech off of that would reach Alderaan, and dial up his father.

Bail Organa was an impressive figure who had certainly aged well. He only had flecks of gray in his dark hair, and for all the time, his adopted father still made quite the commanding figure.

"Luke," He said. "Negotiations must have been quick."

Luke allowed himself a private moment of joy. "It helps that the Mon Calamari seem to lean towards our point of view." He offered a little shrug. "We'll need to send them engineers so they can figure out how to design for a human interface. But if we pay, they'll make the ships."

"Excellent. It's an old design, but the Thranta cruisers in a Mon Cal design team will be just what we need." Bail scratched at his chin. "You did good work, Luke. When you've finished on Dac, come home. We have something we want to discuss."

Luke nodded. "Yes, Father. I'll have us head home as soon as we can."

"Excellent. Organa out. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Father." The holographic image of his father's face disappeared, and Luke sighed. There was so much work to do.

The rest of the negotiations were mostly haggling. It wasn't a particularly intensive progress, but it was good experience. Mon Cal cuisine was interesting, to say the least. He hadn't even known that he was eating seaweed until Ahsoka had told him after the meal.

The hyperspace trip back to Alderaan was due to last at least a week. Luke wasn't looking forward to another week of studies cramped up on the Riptide, but there was worse company.

He was in his quarters, a pang of homesickness rushing through him. He missed Alderaan, his family, and his close companion Winter. He sighed as he flipped through the latest files on mining treaties.

There was a faint rap on his door. "Luke?"

He checked the chrono on the dash of his work station. It was already time for more practical lessons. "Coming, Ahsoka." He said, and deactivated his screen.

He got up from his seat and opened the door to his quarters. Ahsoka was dressed in her simple vest and tunic, with loose pants that allowed freedom of mobility, leaning against the frame of the door. "We've got work to do, Luke."

Luke followed her to the cargo hold, which was mostly full of crates of rations and supplies. There was a large space cleared out, for them to practice.

"Your mind's wandering," Ahsoka noted. She unpacked a case, pulling a few stones from the case. "Want to talk about it?"

Luke tried to put it to words. This was something that Ahsoka liked to lead lessons with. Clear the mind of the worries of the day, and allow it to dwell just on one thing, the Force.

"I'm looking forward to coming home. Our time on Dac was…interesting, to say the least, but…"

Ahsoka smiled. "You'd rather be working in something a bit more active with the Rebellion." She guessed. There was a hint of a familiarity in her smile. "You're just like your father."

There it was. The mention of Anakin Skywalker. Luke wanted to ask more questions. "You were younger than me when you were a Commander in the War."

She shook her head. "I was reckless and a kid who was put into a situation that no one should be." She set the stones between them in a line. "We start with one, then two. You want to get to all four." Ahsoka instructed him.

He nodded, and he slowly moved to kneel. He placed his hands on his knees, and opened his mind to the Force.

In the chaos of life, diplomacy, and the Rebellion, learning about the Force with Ahsoka was something entirely set aside from it all. In the depths of hyperspace, in the cool air of the ship, the only things he could feel were himself, his teacher, and the stones in front of him.

He let the Force flow through him, opening himself up to its power. He focused on the stone to his left, focusing on lifting it. It came easily to him, and it rose slowly. It was exhilarating. He kept his focus on the stone, keeping it hanging a few feet above the ground.

"That's it. Focus on it, and start levitating the next one."

Luke brought his focus on to the next stone over. He could feel his control on the first stone waver momentarily, and it dropped a few inches. He forced himself to regain control on the first, sectioning off a part of his mind to focus on the next stone.

The next one lifted, and it joined the first, hovering a few feet off the ground, stationary.

"Good," Ahsoka said. "Now, have both orbit around you."

As Luke started to focus on them, moving them with his mind, the ship rattled, and he felt the change of the ship to sublight engines. The stones dropped in front of him. "What was that?"

"I don't know. Nothing good." Ahsoka rose as the proximity alert glared through the ship. They both rushed to the cockpit as the rumbling turned from shaky rattles of the Riptide to a more firm vibration. Ahsoka groaned. "They've got us in a tractor beam. Sithspit!"

Luke filed into the cockpit behind Ahsoka, watching as the Interdictor cruiser loomed in front of the view screen. "What do we do?"

Ahsoka checked the readings on the pilot's console. "We can't take on a cruiser on our own, especially not in this rust bucket." She sighed. "We play it calm, you take the lead."

Luke saw the comm panel on his station blink. "We're being hailed. Putting it on." He hit the receive button.

"Riptide, this is the Imperial cruiser Assessor. You are ordered to stand down, shut off your engines, and prepare to be boarded." Said a cool, female voice over the comms.

Luke didn't hit the send button to transmit a reply just yet. He looked over to Ahsoka. Her blue eyes looked right back at him, and he realized that he was in command here. "Cut the engines, Ahsoka. Let's talk our way out of this."

She nodded, and cut power to the engines. Luke hit the button to transmit. "Assessor, Riptide. We are standing down. As we are flying under a diplomatic banner, I will have words with your commander."

"Prince Organa," the female voice purred back. "I look forward to meeting."

Luke didn't transmit his reply. "I've got a bad feeling about this."


	2. Boarding

Luke had to fight to keep himself calm. Even as the violent humming of the tractor beam rattled the ship, his mind raced. He forced himself to take a breath. "What do we do?"

"What we aren't going to do is anything stupid." Ahsoka got up from her seat and opened a compartment on the floor in the cockpit. She dropped two cylbinders into the compartment and covered it up. "All our blasters are in the hold. We aren't going to get them. You're going to talk us out of it. We don't want to draw attention to me. I'm just the body guard."

Luke nodded. "Here goes nothing, then."

The ship was pulled into the _Assessor_ 's hangar bay. Luke had been inside a true Star Destroyer before. In those, the _Riptide_ wouldn't even take up a significant fraction of the hangar. In the small _Immobilizer_ -class cruiser, however, the Riptide took up half the hangar deck. Through the viewport, Luke could see that a number of Imperial Navy officers had their blasters at the ready.

Ahsoka seemed to be taking a more tactical assessment of the situation. "No stormtroopers. Just Navy soldiers. Strange."

Luke smiled just a little. "They weren't expecting us."

Ahsoka blinked a moment. "What?" She looked over at Luke in surprise.

"There weren't any other cruisers in the region. They were just pulling ships out of hyperspace. Maybe they were looking for things to inspect. They just happened to get us."

Ahsoka frowned, but she nodded. "Alright, let's go with that." She placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Just remember. You're the diplomat, you're flying under your father's banner. They're the ones who have to justify themselves."

He nodded. There was a loud _clack_ as the ship touched down. "Follow my lead." He said, and he headed for the boarding hatch. He summoned every ounce of patience he had, then hit the release. The hatch opened, and the boarding ramp lowered.

Two Navy officers in gray-green uniforms were standing at the bottom of the ramp, blasters raised. One of them, a Devaronian male, barked orders quickly. "You'll descend the ramp now."

Luke affected his crisp Coruscanti accent. "Your Excellency."

"Excuse me?" The Devaronian growled. He lifted the blaster slightly, as if taking sight to threaten.

"I am an ambassador from Alderaan, on a diplomatic mission. You are to address me appropriately."

There was a moment of silence from both parties. The Devaronian lowered his blaster. "Your Excellency, if you would disembark."

"Of course," He smiled, and he lowered the boarding ramp. "May my bodyguard come aboard as well?" Luke asked.

The officer looked up the ramp at Ahsoka, who was crossing her arms across her chest, trying to look intimidating. "She'll stay aboard your shuttle." He said.

Luke nodded. "Very well." He turned back to Ahsoka. "If they illegally search the ship, send a message to Alderaan to detail them of the Empire infringing on our diplomatic status."

"Of course, Your Highness." Ahsoka couldn't help but smile, and Luke sketched a lazy salute to her as a way of farewell.

He turned back to the officer. "I'd like to speak with your commander."

"That's already been arranged," The Devaronian officer said. He gestured towards the turbolift.

They started across the hangar, with the squads who had gathered dispersing. Once they were inside, the officer keyed in a location, and the lift started to move.

As they moved, Luke felt a disturbance in the Force. It wasn't like anything he had felt before. His previous interactions with the Force had been with Ahsoka in a controlled environment, full of life and serenity. This was much different. Rage, passion. Instinctively, Luke recognized it from his lessons. The Dark Side.

The lift opened into a hall, where the officers led him to a door. The officers stood on either side, standing at attention. The door opened, revealing an office inside.

The office itself, Luke recognized as what would have been the commander's personal ready room. However, the woman sitting behind the desk wasn't even wearing a Navy uniform. Luke hypothesized that she wasn't even in the military.

The woman sitting with her legs propped up on the desk, reclining back in the chair. Luke knew, immediately, that she was the source of the Dark Side here. She wore loose-fitting trousers and a jacket, both black. The most striking feature, however, was the fiery hair that framed her intense face.

"Luke Organa, Prince and Heir to the House of Organa, son of Bail Organa, who legally adopted a war orphan and turned him into one of the youngest diplomats in the Imperial Senate." She said them as if recounting them from pure memory. She looked him over. "I somehow expected you'd be taller, Prince Charming."

"I get told that a lot. My holos aren't exactly flattering." Luke said. "And you are?"

"My name is Mara Jade. I serve the Emperor." She gestured to one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Take a seat, Your Excellency."

Luke strode over to one of the chairs and took a seat. As he got closer to Mara Jade, he realized that she couldn't have been older than him. She had an intense energy to her, but he could read her even without using the Force. "How should I address you?" He asked.

"Mara, or His Imperial Majesty's Hand. I prefer Mara, personally." She moved her feet off the desk, moving to stand. For someone who had just remarked on Luke's height, she wasn't exactly a tall woman herself.

Luke smiled. "Mara, then. I'm a member of the Imperial Senate, returning from a diplomatic mission to Dac. The _Riptide_ is a diplomatic vessel, with all the appropriate transponder signals. Why were we placed in a tractor beam and detained?"

A little smile crossed Mara's face. "Your Excellency, I'm sure you know that there is quite a bit of Rebel activity these days. In fact, there have even been reports that the Rebellion has been using diplomatic vessels to smuggle materials these days."

"Unsubstantiated reports are hardly a reason to detain my ship." Luke said. "Unless you have reason to detain us, and mind you, that's quite a bit to say for a diplomatic vessel, I will inform the Senate."

Mara didn't even look fazed at that. "While I can't prove it, Luke, I know that in your service are several rebels. It's not a coincidence that Alderaanian ships are more likely to be hijacked by the Rebellion."

"Why, Mara, that's why we were going to Dac. Alderaan is very concerned about our shipping routes. We wanted to construct new cruisers to buffer our merchant fleet and protect our shipping."

The look that Mara shot him was icy, her green eyes boring into his. He could feel her, her power in the Force, pressing at him. He steeled himself, forming his will into a shield around his mind. The power of her probes rippled through the Force, like hot irons prodding at his mind.

"Back off," Luke warned. "I'm not helpless, Miss Jade."

The power receded, and Mara looked him over with a new interest. "You're full of surprises, Your Excellency. Not many people can resist a mind probe."

"Not many people know what it is." He said. "It's only a matter of discipline."

If looks were blasters, Mara's glare would have vaporized him on the spot. "Prince Organa, you would be wise to mind your tongue over His Majesty's Hand." She paused a beat. "Have a lovely trip home to Alderaan, Your Excellency."

Luke took that as his cue to rise. He met her gaze. "Alderaan appreciates the help you have in protecting our space, Miss Jade."

She gestured to the door. "Leave before I decide to test how good your mental shields really are."

He exited the office, where the two officers were still waiting. One of them looked back to the office, where Jade made a shooing motion. "Take him back to the hangar. He's free to go."

"This way, Your Excellency." The Devaronian officer said. He and his compatriot led Luke towards the turbolift. When it keyed, it opened to reveal a man in Imperial Marines uniforms. The two officers showed Luke in.

After a quick check of the officer's rank insignia, Luke spoke. "Major, I didn't know that Interdictors were assigned to the Marines' command."

The Major, who cleared his throat. "Ah, usually not, Your Excellency." He lacked the fine Coruscanti accent, and was something much rougher. "The situation's complicated, as most inter-branch operations are. But where are my manners? Major Bacara, Imperial Marines." He had a number of fine gray streaks in his dark hair, but Luke had no doubt the Major was still quite the capable warrior.

"Bacara," Luke tried the name out. "Well, despite the inconvenience it placed upon us, Major, be assured we thank you for your continuing protection of Imperial Space." He looked back to his escorts, than to the Major. "If you don't mind me asking, I can't quite place your accent. You don't speak like many of the Imperial Academy graduates I've met."

Bacara laughed. "I was in the service before the Imperial Academy existed, Sir. I'm a clone, so the accent is Mandalorian."

That was it. Some of the older officers that Luke had encountered had some of the same accent. He could see it now. "Thank you, Major. That's quite enlightening."

The lift stopped, and the door opened, but not onto the hangar deck. "This is my stop. A pleasure to meet you, Prince Organa."

"And you, Major Bacara."

The rest of the ride was done in silence. By the time they returned to the hangar, the troops had scattered. Instead, there was a lone deck officer, doing some routine inspections of the ship.

Ahsoka was standing at the bottom of the boarding ramp, eying the deck officer. "And I want to make sure that the ship is refueled completely. It's your job to make sure of that."

The deck officer, who looked utterly miserable, nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I-"

"Captain," She corrected him, almost too eagerly.

Luke paced towards Ahsoka. "You're enjoying this too much," He whispered as he got closer.

She shrugged. "Maybe. How did things go?"

"We're free to go. I think that we were an accident, or they didn't find what they wanted." He gestured to the ship. "Let's finish up here and go inside."

She nodded, then to the deck officer. "Once you're done here, hail us so we can get underway."

The deck officer nodded like the Emperor himself had spoken. "Let's." Luke said, and they ascended the ramp.

Once they were inside, Ahsoka asked. "So, how did you get them to let us go?"

Luke shook his head. "I talked with the person in charge of this operation. Her name's Mara Jade."

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"That's what she said. She was young, about my age." He paused a moment. "Ahsoka, she could use the Dark Side. She tried to reach into my mind."

Ahsoka leaned back against a bulkhead, cupping her jaw in thought. "We've had rumors of several operatives of the Emperor. Inquisitors, they're called. They're part of the Emperor's Sith Order. They're Jedi hunters."

Luke frowned. "She called herself the Emperor's Hand."

"I think that means she's highly placed." Ahsoka noted. "Just where in the power structure she is, though, I don't have a clue."

A buzzing sound, the comm, started to ring through the ship. Luke hit a wall panel, responding. "Organa here."

" _Riptide_ , _Assessor_ flight control. You're clear to leave."

Luke shook his head. "Very well. Thank you, _Assessor_ , and give me regards to Miss Jade and Major Bacara." He cut the comm channel, then looked to Ahsoka. "Was it too easy?"

"I'm not sure." She said. "Whatever we do, though, we should be on our toes. Can you get us into hyperspace?" At Luke's nod, she continued. "Good. I've got some messages to send to some of the cells. The Rebels need to know an Interdictor is sitting on this route."

Luke smiled. "Alright. I'll get us in the air. You go do your own Fulcrum stuff." Luke headed towards the cockpit, knowing that as he started to warm up the engines, that despite what he knew, they couldn't be out of the clear just yet.


	3. Homecoming

Three days of hyperspace, and they were close to Alderaan. Luke spent most of his time training and in lessons. The last day of their trip had Luke pacing up and down the small ship. They were only a few minutes out of hyperspace, and he wasn't sure he could wait any longer. As he paced through the aft of the ship near the crew quarters, he couldn't help but hear the sounds that were coming from Ahsoka's cabin.

"Fulcrum, you need to know that I've been getting reports of a lot of Fleet activity. It seems like the Empire is redistributing some of their ships into the Core." The voice was unfamiliar to Luke. A woman's, maybe a slight bit younger than his teacher.

"The Core?" Ahsoka responded. "That doesn't make any sense, Specter. Why would the Empire move their ships away from the Rim?"

"I don't know. But my contacts with other cells have reported a forty percent drop in the Empire's number out here. Moving that much of the Fleet has to mean something."

There was a moment of silence. "I'll see what I can find, Specter. I've got other matters to attend to. Fulcrum out." After a moment, Ahsoka called from her room. "Eavesdropping is hardly a smart thing to do around a Jedi, Luke."

As the door to her cabin slid open, Luke shrugged. "You were talking with one of the cell leaders." He remarked.

She nodded. "Yes, I was. But that's not a concern of yours, Luke. We're due to drop out of hyperspace in a few minutes." She gestured down the corridor towards the cockpit. "Shall we?"

Luke nodded, and he followed her to the cockpit. As they strapped in, the alert light to signal the transition to realspace started blinking. Luke paid attention to the navicomputer as they dropped from hyperspace, the change in the hum of the _Riptide_ flittering through his body.

They dropped out of hyperspace in high orbit around Alderaan. What Luke saw on sensors, though, was not what he usually saw in orbit around Alderaan.

"Tag them, Luke, quick!" Ahsoka snapped as she hit the sublight engines.

Luke started his active sensor scan, pinging each of the ships in orbit. Three Star Destroyers. One _Imperial_ -class, the _Dominion_ , and two _Gladiator_ s. The latter two, a more boxy Star Destroyer that was a stopgap between the older Republic models and the newer Imperial ones, were positioned to escort the _Dominion_. He also noted an escort carrier, which was disgorging TIE Fighters. "Got them, Ahsoka. What's the Empire doing here with a Fleet?"

"I don't know. I'm taking the ship into atmosphere." The ship pitched on a descent course. "Are any ships moving to engage us?"

Luke studied the readouts on his sensors. "No, they've assumed a position over the capitol. IT looks like they're set up for a blockade."

"If they haven't noticed us, or just don't care, that's at least a small favor in our direction." She trimmed their course slightly. "We're heading to the estate. That's far enough from the capitol that we won't attract much attention."

The slow descent into the planet was accompanied by the hum of atmosphere against the ship. Luke wanted to ask a thousand questions, but he wasn't sure he would like the answers.

"Luke," Ahsoka's voice was soft. "We'll find out what happened. We will make sure everyone is safe. But you need to focus on the present." She reached across to touch his shoulders. "Don't bottle up your feelings, but don't let them rule you." Luke looked over to Ahsoka, then nodded. "Good. How's the comm chatter looking?"

Luke pulled a headset from the station, and started to scan the usual frequencies. After a minute or so of listening, he found a formal channel for the Alderaanian Planetary Security. It was just a repeating message, one that he had to listen to several times before relaying.

"The Empire is here for security reasons. Grand Moff Tarkin will be addressing the planet shortly, explaining the situation and giving a summary of the Empire's next step for Alderaan the Empire."

Ahsoka groaned. "That isn't good. Let's land and figure out what's going on."

The mountain estate of House Organa was beautiful, picturesque. It had stood in this spot for milennia, in some shape or form. These days, it had the rounded coronets and earthy colors that had been in architectural fashion about two centuries ago.

They set the _Riptide_ down on one of the landing ports that was carved out of the mountain. The _Riptide_ , though not a particularly large ship was about the largest that the hangars could support.

As Ahsoka powered down the ship, she grabbed her weapons and a cloak. "Best grab your blaster. We don't know what to expect here."

Luke nodded, and as they headed to the landing ramp, he grabbed a holdout blaster and slipped it in his boot. "I'm more worried about the fact that we didn't get any comm traffic from the estate."

"We'll take a look around." Ahsoka said as she lowered the boarding ramp.

The ramp lowered, and Ahsoka took the lead. Luke followed her, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. What was waiting wasn't an unusual sight.

Winter Retrac, however, was an unusual woman. The young white-haired woman had her arms across her chest. "Good, you made it past the blockade. We need to talk."

Luke looked between Ahsoka and his friend. "Winter, what happened?"

"About eight hours ago, the Imperials arrived, and stormtroopers made an insertion into the capitol." She looked to Ahsoka. "Mother is waiting. We need to talk about this as a family."

Even though Winter didn't show it on her icy expression, Luke could feel her apprehension in the Force. "Winter, where's our dad?" The ripple that ran through her as he asked gave him the worst suspicions.

"We should talk about this with Mother." Winter insisted. She led them out of the hangar and up the stairs to the estate proper, the Winter Retreat of the Organas.

Winter led them up into one of the studies, where Breha Organa was presently filling a glass full of amber liquor. The Queen of Alderaan was an intensely striking woman, with dark hair in the latest styles, and wearing a simple green dress. She looked at the glass of alcohol, and poured it back into the decanter.

"I've been trying to drink this for the last three hours." She looked up to look at the newly arrived trio. "I'm due to expect troopers by the evening. The Empire is going to put Alderaan under martial law."

"What?!" Luke crossed the room in three quick steps, standing on the other side of the desk. "They can't do that. The Imperial Senate would-"

"The Senate has been dissolved, Luke." She closed her eyes, and shook her head. "It's going to be announced tomorrow. The Empire doesn't see the need for it now. They arrested Bail."

Now it was Ahsoka's turn for an outburst. "They couldn't! If they arrest the opposition leader in the Senate, there would be outrage!"

"The Empire seems to believe that the sector governors can keep control. For the safety of the the Galaxy, they said." This time, Breha poured the liquor and downed it. "Sithspit, that is vile. Why does Bail like it?"

"That's not all," Winter said. "Father's being held on charges of treason. The Empire thinks they have enough evidence or can at least prove in the public eye that he was supplying the rebel cells on the Outer Rim."

"They wouldn't be wrong there," Luke murmured. "What about us?"

Breha sighed. "That is the problem." She set her jaw, then looked to Ahsoka. "You need to take my children off planet. Find a way past the Imperial blockade, and get them into hiding. I must stay to keep Alderaan safe."

Winter nodded. "Of course, Mother."

Luke wanted to say he would stay, that they would fight the Empire. But he knew that it wasn't in the Queen's nature to fight. She would keep her people safe as best she knew. "Yes, Mother."

"I'll find ways to keep in contact." She looked Luke right in the eyes. "So long as we can stand, we will. It's our duty to work for freedom wherever we can."

He nodded. "We'll be back to liberate Alderaan." He promised.

"We have a lot to prepare for." Winter said. "It's going to be a nasty time getting off planet."

* * *

Wilhuff Tarkin wasn't a particularly impressive figure, and to be truthful, he didn't mind that much anyways. Though tall, his thin frame and bony face made him appear like some primitive world's idea of a phantom. His hair had thinned and grayed since the Clone Wars, and through perfect execution of his philosophy-the Emperor's own doctrine's intervening-had risen to the rank of Grand Moff. He was the highest ranking member of the Moff Council, and while the Emperor these days mostly sequestered himself in the study of his religion, Tarkin had assumed command of the Galaxy.

The Senate building of Alderaan was a stately, colorful, decadent thing that Tarkin found very little interest in. He simply walked to the podium that had been erected at the steps in front of the Senate. The crowds that had gathered were held back by a wall of stormtroopers and hovertanks.

Tarkin placed both hands on the podium. He knew the feed for the amplifiers were on, and spoke with the careful precision he always did.

"Citizens of Alderaan. As you well know, I am Grand Moff Tarkin, Governor of His Imperial Majesty. It is through his will and infinite generosity that I am here today, to address gave concerns. For nearly seventeen years, the Galactic Empire has stood and protected its citizens. The Clone Wars are long past, a product of greed and corruption in our Galaxy.

"The life of our Empire has been a short one so far, measured against the great span of history, but we have endeavored to make our Empire a safer one. For the first time in centuries, the endless meddling of the Trade Federations and their like have been brought to heel. Slavery has been ended, and we stand united as a great power."

Tarkin took a second to pause, pleased with how it was going so far.

"But there are some who do not think this is enough. They seek to bring back the decadence, corruption, and filth of the old regime, for their own greed and hungers. Many of them sat in the Imperial Senate, trying to influence our government and twist it to their own designs. One of them was Alderaan's own Bail Organa, who was conspiring with terrorists, insurgents, and criminals."

That drew boos from the crowd, and Tarkin could already see some of the rousing begin. He didn't mind iit. In fact, some opposition to efficiently crush would only reinforce the Empire's will.

"Prince-Consort Organa willfully and deliberately aided and abetted notable insurgent cells, something we could not abide once we found out. But this is just a latest symptom of the corruption that has attempted to infiltrate the highest seats of government. The Emperor and the Moff Council could not allow this. This is why, in a supermajority decision, the Imperial Senate has voted to disband, granting power to the Moffs and sector governors."

If the arrest of Bail Organa had roused the crowd, now it was ready to brew into a full-out riot. Tarkin was more than assured of his security and the ability of the troopers, members of the 226th Legion who all had outstanding records, would be able to hold off any rabble.

"The security of Alderaan, the Empire, and the Galaxy at large must be ensured. The Imperial Navy, Army, Marines, and Stormtrooper Corps will be spread throughout the Empire, ensuring peace and stability for as long as it takes us to ensure a permanent stability in the Galaxy." With a curt nod of his head, he turned and headed back towards the Senate building, ignoring the boos and jeers that followed him. He knew control would be re-established shortly. Then it was on to bigger plans.


	4. Fight and Flight

The next few hours after the speech were a rush of preparations. Ahsoka was busy refueling and doing quick maintenance work on the _Riptide_ , while Winter and Luke packed. Between clothes, gear, and supplies, the process took about two hours.

When they were finished, Breha met them in the hangar. She carried a small satchel, though both Luke and Winter knew they couldn't persuade her to come. Alderaan needed a leader. Luke wasn't that leader, and Breha was. The Empire couldn't touch her without risking a true planetary revolt.

Their mother set the satchel down, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I know this is difficult, but I have the greatest of faith in both of you. Winter?"

The white-haired girl tilted her head to one side. "Yes, Mother?"

"Keep your brother safe." She smiled. "He's too fool-hardy for his own good."

Luke made a gasp of mock-astonishment. "Mother, I'm right here."

"My point exactly, Luke." She said, and squeezed his shoulder. "You're a natural leader, but you are a piece of iron that still needs to be formed. Restraint and temperance are skills that any leader needs to know."

She took her hands off of them, and she lifted the satchel. "While most of our assets have been frozen by the Empire, we do have some things even the Imperial Security Bureau isn't entirely aware of. Half a million credits in untraceable credsticks, most importantly."

Winter frowned as she accepted the bag. "Even I didn't know we had that much hidden away from the Imperials."

She smiled. "You would be surprised what a parent can hide from a daughter, even one with a holographic memory."

Winter broke a rare smile, and she slung the satchel over her shoulder. "We'll be careful." She promised. "And we will be back."

Breha nodded. "May the Force be with you both."

"Whatever you do, Mom, stay safe." Luke said.

Ahsoka called down from the ramp. "Sorry to break up the family moment, but I've just picked up incoming ships. Looks like a landing craft and escorts."

"Go," Breha said. "I promise I'll contact you when I can find a way to securely do it."

Luke and Winter embraced their mother, and Luke had a sinking suspicion that it would be a long time before they embraced again. They boarded the _Riptide_ , where Ahsoka handed each of them a headset.

"We should expect the Imps won't want us to leave. Winter, Luke, remember your weapons training? Get into the turrets. I'll be calling out targets, and I'll need you two to hold them off before we can escape atmosphere and even try to jump to lightspeed."

"Where are we going?" Winter asked.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Just know I'm taking you somewhere safe." She said, and gestured to the center of the ship, where the ladder to the dorsal and ventral turrets was stationed. "Just keep talking and keep shooting." She said.

Luke and Winter made a quick rush to the turret ladder. Luke went first, scaling up to the dorsal turret, while Winter went down onto the belly turret.

As the ship's engines started up, Luke checked his readouts. The cannon's energy banks were fully charged, routed right from the main core of the ship. He adjusted his headset, which put a small Heads-Up Display in the corner of his eye. It displayed the scopes for the turret's field of fire, and also any relevant tactical data Ahsoka would feed him.

The ship started to lift off the hangar bay, and flew out from the mountain estate into the twilight sky. The sky was a beautiful orange, something that was lost in Luke in the depression of the moment. Then he saw the fighters.

An Imperial _Sentinel-_ class landing craft, a bulkier version of the _Lambda_ shuttles, was at the back of the pack. It was escorted by two flights of the standard TIE/LN Fighter, unshielded craft that relied on agility and speed to do their work.

"Luke, Winter, time for callsigns. We don't need the Empire suspecting who's on board." Ahsoka's voice filtered through the headset. "Luke, Lever. Winter, Targeter."

"What about you?" Luke asked.

"Fulcrum," Ahsoka said immediately. "Eyes up! We've got fighters incoming, two clicks."

Luke remembered his most basic atmospheric combat training. Outside of about a kilometer, the laser cannons on a TIE Fighter wouldn't be much use. The _Riptide_ 's quad laser turrets packed a bigger punch, but only had a smaller incremental range. "I see them. Eight TIEs and a lander." He reported back.

"Good, good." Ahsoka said. "Keep talking, kids. Communication is vital. Lever, once they get to one-point-five clicks, start firing into the TIE flights. Scatter them so they can't focus their firepower on strafing runs."

"Copy, Fulcrum." Luke studied the closing fighters. Both flights of four ships were arranged in a diamond formation, with the lead at the fore, two ships in the middle, and one aft. He brought up the leader for the left flights and he started to pepper the air with scarlet laser bolts. The satisfying crack of the laser cannon pounded in his ears, the rumble of the atmosphere scattering his shots before he could settle the cannon.

None of the bolts hit, but the left flight scattered. Luke tapped the side of the cannon, swiveling it a few degrees to the right before depressing the trigger again. Another spattering of red bolts shot out. The right flight's leader broke, and the right group scattered only to reform a few seconds later.

Then all hell broke loose.

The left flight scattered, barreling down for the belly of the ship. "Targeter, one of the flights is going for the underside. Incoming!"

Green lances of energy came from the first flight, splashing across the shields of the _Riptide_. The ship shook, but the shields held. Luke started to pour bolts back at the tightly-formed group. Whoever was leading that group certainly had their act together. He tried acquiring a lock on any of the fighters, but the preternaturally quick TIEs juked, moving as one and veering away to circle around for another run.

"Sithspit!"

"Keep it cool, Lever." Ahsoka shot back. "Let it come to you."

"That flight that hit the deck's coming up for a run." More shots rocked the nimble _Riptide_ , but Winter's shots brought better results. "One down, Fulcrum!"

"Good work, good work, Targeter." Ahsoka said. The ship broke to starboard, swinging it out of range of the _Sentinel_ 's forward guns, then started to climb. "Lever, we've got that first flight coming in from aft."

Luke swung the turret back to look right at the incoming TIEs. The scream of their engines filled his ears as they grew closer and closer. "I've got them."

"Hold your fire until they're at 200 meters. TIEs have tiny profiles, and they're an easier shot from the side if you can get them."

"Copy, Fulcrum." Luke kept his finger off the trigger, watching as the flight of TIEs streaked closer.

Green laser bolts slammed into the _Riptide_ , its large surface area from the top providing an easy target. The _Riptide_ rocked on each shot, and Luke knew that the shields wouldn't hold much longer.

Luke waited until he could hear the screech of the twin ion engines draw closer. He saw the glare of the transaristeel of the cockpits, and checked his figures. 200 meters and closing.

He pulled on the trigger, starting at the left-most fighter. The spattering of scarlet bolts slammed into the TIE, catching it on one of the solar panels. It spun down away from its wing mates, dropping like a rock.

Luke didn't think on it for long. He swung the turret as the TIEs shot past him, catching two more as they flew past. One exploded in a fiery ball of plasma while another careened down to the surface. "Three down, Fulcrum."

"Targeter here. My group is veering off. It looks like we've scared them off."

Ahsoka let a little sigh escape her. "Good. We'll break atmosphere in two minutes. Keep your eyes open for more fighters."

They didn't have any more disturbances until they broke atmosphere. The next thing Luke saw on his sensors that wasn't local traffic, he reported. "I see two ships. Ten clicks out. Assault gunboats, they look like."

Ahsoka's voice came a minute later. "They're the new StarWing craft. They don't have the speed to take us on before we head off to lightspeed. Lever, get down into the cockpit. Targeter, check on the engine room. I want to make sure there wasn't any damage from that attack. Our shields didn't hold everything."

Luke took off the headset, setting it on the rest near the turret. He descended the ladder, then ran up to the cockpit. He slid back into the co-pilot's chair, and he looked over to Ahsoka.

She glanced back at him for a moment. "You did good work up there. Both of you. Now, time to get to work on astrogation." She gestured to the navicomputer. "I need you to make the first of three jumps that we'll have to do. The first is a system called Doldrums. The coordinates should be in the history of the computer."

Luke pulled it up. "Doldrums?"

"Dead star in the system. It's useless and worthless, but there's enough background radiation in the system it'll shake off most pursuers."

Luke started to calculate the jump to lightspeed. AS he did though, he watched the StarWing's distance close, rapidly. "Ahsoka…"

"Keep calm, Luke, the StarWings aren't in range. Except for their concussion missiles." She added that last part as an afterthought. "Don't worry about it."

He wasn't done when the missile alert started beeping. "Sithspit!" Ahsoka started to juke the ship. Both of them knew that the _Riptide_ was too big a target to lose the lock. Ahsoka just needed to keep it away long enough to let Luke finish.

That wasn't lost on Luke as he tried to finish the calculations. He watched as the navicomputer rerouted their jump around a nebula, then watched as it flashed to a blue 'route locked' screen.

"We're in!"

Ahsoka leaned over to engage the hyperdrive as the first missile crashed into the hull of the ship. She punched the ignition for the hyperdrive, and the stars streaked by them as they made the jump to lightspeed. The blue whirlpool of hyperspace floated by them, and Ahsoka turned away from the chair. "That wasn't good. Let's check on the damage."

The two of them walked back to the aft of the ship, where Winter had a datapadd and toolkit out. "That missile got us good. Direct hit on the port fuselage. Between that and the TIEs, I don't think we've got enough juice to hit the Outer Rim without going along some of the major trade routes."

Ahsoka sighed. "We'll drop out in Doldrums, and we'll do some repairs there. I don't think we can reach the _Fortressa_ in our current state." She cradled her jaw with her hand. "We've got a few days until we reach Doldrums. Just buckled down, do what repairs we need. I'll think of something." She promised.

Luke only hoped that the _Riptide_ would hold together until then.


	5. Doldrums

Mara Jade stood in the ready room of Grand Moff Tarkin, unusually apprehensive. There were very few people in the Empire who were considered above her in the grand scheme of things. Wilhuff Tarkin was one such man. Even her master had instructions. In matters of the material, Tarkin was the highest-ranking member of the Governorship, and thus, she did not come to him as an equal, but merely as another agent.

"Governor," Mara didn't incline her head to show respect, but neither did she presume superiority.

"Miss Jade," The clear, Coruscanti-accented voice of Tarkin replied. "I really do have to wonder why the Emperor assigned you here."

"I want to know why that diplomatic transport, the Riptide, was not stopped from departing the system." Mara said, her voice growing sharper. "That was the Organa's personal craft."

"We had to arrest the queen, Miss Jade." Tarkin said. "And it barely evaded our gunships in orbit. Wherever the Riptide is, it is heavily damaged."

"Eight fighters and a shuttle full of stormtroopers seems like a miscalculation for the forces you should have sent. What if the Queen had been on that ship?"

"Miss Jade," Tarkin steepled his fingers together. "I do not appreciate you second-guessing my orders or my decisions. If you do it a second time, I might very well forget the attachment our Emperor has for you."

"You wouldn't have a chance." Jade hissed.

He clicked his tongue. "You are no Jedi, Mara Jade. Do not delude yourself in that. The emperor has taught you a few tricks, but do not let that delude you. You're merely a girl with no sense of the long game. We have a number of vectors for the possible destination of the Riptide."

She fought the urge to bristle in frustration. She was not supposed to be held to these bureaucrats and politicians. So she decided to bring out her trump card. "I need a ship."

"Is the _Assessor_ not satisfactory?"

"Not when I need to hunt a ship." She said. "I require something faster. One of the smaller cruisers."

Tarkin frowned. "The ships are required for a quick reaction to any rebel action in the Core."

Jade scoffed. "We both know that the rebels will act in the Outer Rim now, precisely because you've decided to start a chokehold on the Core."

"Then what do you wish for, Miss Jade?"

"A Star Destroyer. That VicStar you have in orbit would do quite nicely."

That got Tarkin to raise a hand to his glass of water and take a sip, as if having to compose himself. "You want a Star Destroyer."

"Would you prefer I contact the Emperor and have him agree to give me the ship?"

Tarkin glared at her with a cold intensity that Mara didn't need to be Force-sensitive to pick up. "I will contact Captain Cody and let him know that you are commandeering the Dominion." He leaned back onto his chair. "I hope you will find it satisfactory."

"Your grace is overwhelming, Governor."

As Mara left the office, she felt the voice of her master, penetrating into her.

You will find Organa, and you will deliver him to me. The Force is strong in him, and I must test him.

Mara felt a shiver run down her spine. There wasn't an answer needed. It was the same answer that was always expected of her. Complete and total obedience.

Doldrums was exactly what the name suggested. A late-stage star that was dying a slow and uninteresting death, its systems was left with frozen rocks and no signs of life. It was off most trade routes, and was remarkably unremarkable.

Luke had determined this all within an hour of arriving in system. After twelve in system, he was starting to get restless. He was in the rear of engineering, helping Winter with the repairs. "Plasma torch," The white-haired girl reached a hand up from the engineering pit she was in.

Luke retrieved the small hand-held torch from the toolbox, and handed it down to Winter. "I'm worried that the Empire might have tracked us."

"It's a very real possibility." Winter noted. "Even with the repairs I was able to affect, we are leaking coolant. It's an insignificant amount for ship performance, but if we jump to lightspeed, our radiation signature will be much more noticeable. The Imperials will be able to calculate a course with…" She processed it for a moment, waving her hands idly. "Eighty-seven percent certainty. They'll also likely be able to send probes out to other possibly destinations."

"So you're saying that we need a plan to cover our rears."

"That's accurate as any other metaphor I can think of." Winter remarked. "Alternatively, I have another idea…" She remarked.

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"If we went to a well-populated world, landed, and affected repairs, if we were able to piece together enough for another jump, it would be much much harder for the Imperials to get a tail on us."

Luke thought about that as he focused his thoughts on a spanner, lifting it a few inches out of the toolbox. He considered the possibility. "Do you know what the closest star system that would fit would bee?"

"Nal Hutta, most likely, and the accompanying Smuggler's Moon."

"As your protector and captain, I veto that idea immediately." Ahsoka said. Her sudden presence startled Luke, who lost his focus on the spanner, dropping it to the toolbox.

Luke turned around. "We're going to be able to be tracked no matter what." Luke noted.

Ahsoka smiled. "I think I have an idea of my own. I've sent a signal through the various cells. We should have an answer about a possible pickup in a few hours.

Luke thought about that. "If we don't make a hyperspace jump with our own engines, the Empire wouldn't be able to track us."

Ahsoka nodded. "Phantom Squadron's the closest cell. They've got a few corvettes that we could dock to."

"Let's hope they pick up then," Winter noted.

"Indeed," Ahsoka nodded, then asked. "Winter, do you need your brother? I need to borrow him for a bit of training."

Winter shrugged. "He's a terribly caddy. Have him."

Luke affected a look of mock offense. "I am shocked at these accusations." He jumped to his feet, eager to begin any training.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Come on, let's head to the cargo hold."

They walked through the ship, pacing through the corridors. As they walked, Ahsoka reached into her jacket, pulling out one of her weapons. "Before we begin, Luke, you need to know what this is. What is it?"

"A lightsaber," Luke said, with the knowing suspicion that there was more to the question.

"It is that. What that entails is something more than just a weapon. A time ago, not even a long one ago, this saber was sometimes all you could need to defuse a conflict. People who wielded it, before the Empire, were supposed to protect others, and solve problems. The lightsaber is a tool to anyone who uses it, It is a shield, a blade, inspiration, and a symbol of a Jedi."

She shook her head. "But the Emperor has seen to it that his vision of the Jedi is the one thrust upon the Galaxy. People fear a lightsaber where just a few decades ago, it was a sign of hope."

As they talked, they entered the cargo hold, where Ahsoka had set aside enough crates to give them enough space to work. "Your father was a Jedi, and I served with him. I am going to do my best to teach you." She held out the lightsaber. "Take it, but do not activate it yet."

Luke accepted the lightsaber, expecting something other than the cool metal with just a hint of the warmth of Ahsoka's touch. His thumb ran over the cool metal, testing it.

"There are a number of arts and forms surrounding the particulars of how to use a lightsaber, but the most important is what the Jedi call Form Zero."

"Form Zero?" Luke took a few steps away from Ahsoka to give them space.

Ahsoka smiled. "Usually, when we taught Form Zero, it would be to younglings. Form Zero is the most decisive and important combat technique that you'll need to know. When to draw your lightsaber.

"A lightsaber is precise, quick, and incredibly destructive. If you're in a fight in a cantina, and someone draws their blaster, and you draw your lightsaber and cut off their hand, well, you've saved yourself, but someone's now down a hand. Could you have diffused the situation without making someone lose a hand? Could you have used your words, or just used a hand to hand technique to take the blaster from his hands?"

Luke nodded. "It's the weight of my actions." He noted.

"Yes," She smiled. "Don't question your moments in the here and now, because we need to survive, but don't ever be afraid to reflect on your actions, figure out how you can do better." She took out a second lightsaber, identical to the one she had given him. "Enough philosophy and ethics. Turn on the lightsaber, and let's learn about form one, Shii-Cho."

Luke thumbed the activation button on his lightsaber, and a beam of white light extended from the hilt, coming to live in a loud snap-hiss. "Shii-Cho?"

"I prefer the Way of the Sarlaac." Ahsoka said. The image of a sarlaac, those great parasitic creatures that lived underground, immediately came to mind. "It was the first form of combat that the Jedi developed, before the Sith, before the invention of the blaster. It's wild, unpredictable, but highly utilitarian. Now," She raised "You remember your fencing instructions?" She asked.

Luke nodded. "Somehow, I don't think that fencing is quite the same as lightsaber combat."

Ahsoka smiled. "No, certainly not. But the first Jedi were used to swords, and really couldn't anticipate how the galaxy would develop. So Form One evolved from that, and has amny of the same components. Mirror my movements."

Ahsoka set her feet apart, one slightly ahead of the other, with her saber drawn across her torso. Luke mimicked the same movement, compensating for his slight difference in height.

"Very good. This is a traditional defensive posture. You can bring your saber to just about anywhere you need fast, and you can either defend or attack from this position."

They spent the next half-hour practicing forms, showing basic maneuvers. Lunges, parries, cuts, all of it against empty space. However, Luke was a natural a gesture from Ahsoka, he deactivated the lightsaber. "Time for one more thing. But first.." She walked to the comm panel on the cargo hold's bulkhead and hit it.

"Winter here," said his sister's voice after a moment. "How goes the sword training?"

"I'll make a Jedi out of Luke left. Can you go to the medical bay and get some bacta salves? Luke's going to need them in…fifteen minutes or so?"

"Copy, Winter out." The line went dead, and Luke felt a sudden tremor of anxiety flood through him.

"What am I going to need bacta for?" He asked.

Ahsoka opened up that case of her various Jedi training devices. The levitation stones were still there, but instead she pulled out a little remote, a mechanical device so limited in its programming that Luke couldn't even call it a droid.

"What do you want me to do?" Luke asked.

"This is a training remote." She explained as she activated it. With a little whir of activity, it started to float. "It will send our very low-power beam charges that you are going to try do deflect." She explained. "Normally, you would start doing this as a child, but we've got a lot of catching up to do. Turn on your saber."

Luke turned on the saber again, a snap-hiss of white light filling the air. He watched as the remote started to hover around him. He adopted one of the more usual defensive stances that he had learned in the past half-hour.

The remote hovered in front of him. Luke tried to anticipate its movements, and made a guess. He chose wrong. He tried to block right, but the remote dodged left, and left him with a sharp sting on his left hip. "Sithspit!"

Ahsoka restrained a chuckle, though Luke could hear it in her voice. "Oh, you'll need those salves."


	6. Imperial Entanglements

The bridge of the _Dominion_ was impressive. Its view over the gray-white wedge of a _Victory_ -class Star Destroyer, its superstructure bristling with weapons, gave Mara a swelling sense of patriotism. She glanced to her side, to the Captain of the _Dominion_.

Captain Cody, like many clones, had graying hair. His was still mostly black, but the flecks of age still peppered his shortly cut hair like snow. He had a wicked scar from his left eye that only seemed to make his gaze harder. "So, you believe you can chart a course that can get us to the missing Prince?" He asked.

"With help from your navigational officer." Mara responded. They walked across the bridge of the _Dominion_ , which was assembled with psychology as well as function in mind, like many things the Empire constructed. There were two large pits where various officers were stationed, flanking a center bridge where the captain would patrol and walk along. The command staff was to be above the rest of the officers, able to survey anything they wished.

They walked to the navigational officer, where a young Twi'lek woman was working at her station. Mara read her rank plate, and smiled genially. "Ensign, my name is Mara Jade."

"Ensign Vao, ma'am."

Mara smiled. "Rather young to be posted to a VicStar," She remarked.

The ensign shot her a look that seemed to say that she was one to talk. Cody interrupted. "Ensign Vao was one of the best NavComm specialists the Academy turned out last session. We were happy to have her on the bridge."

"Very well," Mara smiled. "Ensign Vao, let's put that brain of yours to the test. Gamma radiation leftover from a jump to lightspeed was detected and tracked by the StarWings' sensor records, yes?"

She nodded. "Pulling them up now. We pulled the sensor records from the gunboats in anticipation of tracking the ship." She brought up the correlating data on a small holoprojector next to her station. It showed the location of the gamma burst compared to the astrographical position of Alderaan. "The amount of radiation is substantially larger than a ship that size usually puts out."

"Count that one to the concussion missile that your flyboys scored." Mara remarked. "Ensign, assume the _Riptide_ had a class 1.5 hyperdrive, as the _Assessor_ reported in its scans of the ship. On that heading, how many possible destinations would you suggest a ship would even attempt to reach with her rating?"

Vao started to calculate the figures. "Seventeen." The hologram shifted to a cutaway of the known galaxy, with a swath of it lit up. Seventeen pinpoints of light illuminated the possible targets.

"Eliminate all worlds that are beyond two day's journey. They want a short jump before they try to affect repairs." That narrowed it down to eight. "Remove all Imperial worlds from the search." Two. "Identify our worlds."

"Celtrom system, owned by the Mining Guilds. Mostly for the production of a gas used in industrial processing. Eighteen hours journey, no Imperial presence."

Mara didn't like that one. It didn't _feel_ right. "The other?"

"Xobome system, with a late-stage star and nothing of value. Some minor asteroid belts, but no economic or strategic value. Called Doldrums by smugglers, affectionately."

That got Mara's smile. She felt something in the Force, like a calling. "Set a course, Captain Cody. We're going to the Xobome system."

Cody smiled. "Let's go hunt some rebels."

Luke was sitting in the crew lounge of the _Riptide,_ groaning as he tried to think of anything but the aches and scores on his skin after a half-hour with the remote.

"Well, you weren't awful." Ahsoka noted. "I mean, that level of proficiency is usually something we would see from a youngling, but you're a late start." She shrugged.

Luke grunted. "How bad was it?"

"Well, by the time I passed my tests to make Padawan, I could manage two remotes and deflect every shot." Ahsoka offered a little shrug. "I was at the top of the class."

Luke pondered if this was a good time to talk about it. "What was my father like? Anakin, my biological father."

"He was the bravest man I think I've ever known." She relaxed back into one of the seats, closing her eyes. "He was also probably one of the most powerful Jedi I had ever seen. But he could be brash, impulsive. The Council didn't like him a lot at times."

"What happened to him?" He asked.

"The Emperor was once a Jedi, Luke. He betrayed and murdered the Jedi. He killed your father, and took his role ruling the galaxy." She sighed. "He was in collusion with another Lord of the Sith, Sidious. Together, they exterminated the Jedi. But the Emperor killed Sidious. It's their way. He took control of the Empire, and began his iron rule."

Luke thought about that for a long moment. "Are there any other Jedi?"

"One, maybe two that I know of." She said. "Order 66 killed most of the Jedi, and the Emperor's Inquisitors hunted down many of the rest, or turned the ones they thought malleable to the Dark Side. None of the old Masters are left. I wasn't even in the Order when the Empire came to power. I had left a few years before."

"I'm glad you're here," Luke said. He extended a hand out, offering to Ahsoka.

She placed her hand in his, and squeezed it softly. "Wouldn't be anywhere else in the Galaxy, truthfully. I may not be a Jedi, but I want to teach you as best I can."

Winter's voice came over the comms of the ship. "Hate to spoil downtime, but we've just a contact. Star Destroyer incoming!"

Ahsoka and Luke both jumped to their feet, and started running towards the cockpit. By the time they got there, Winter had the controls, gunning the ship's engines.

"What's the status?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's the same Star Destroyer from Alderaan, the _Dominion_. It's about fifteen clicks out. Hasn't launched fighters yet. They're hailing us, asking us to surrender, usual Imperial openings."

Ahsoka tapped Winter's shoulder, and the younger woman got out of the seat. Ahsoka took the controls. "With the hyperdrive like it is, it's only good for a jump or two. Even with that, they'll be able to track us in a second." Ahsoka shook her head. "Take the guns. Phantom Squadron should be showing up soon, but we need to hold up until them."

The hangar bay of the _Firestorm_ was aflitter with activity. Bandit Group had been scrambled to be the first alert fighters, and as Wedge pulled on his helmet, he heard Captain Serrin's voice over the internal comms.

"Bandit Group, this is _Firestorm_ -actual. We've picked up a distress signal from a VIP, designated Fulcrum. They've been engaged by a VicStar, _Dominion_."

The voice of the other flight leader, a Lieutenant Silda, came over. "Two groups against a VicStar? What do they expect us to do?"

As Wedge hurried over to his Headhunter, marked on the nose with the signature crossed swords the Bandits had, he heard Captain Serrin reply. "The mission is to rescue the VIP. We've got to hold on for as long as we can so we can tow Fulcrum into our hangar, then bug out. _Phantom_ and _Corellian Star_ will keep you covered from the Star Destroyer's guns. You only have to engage the TIEs."

"Copy, Actual." Wedge keyed on to the Bandit channel. "We don't know how many fighter's they'll launch, but if they launch the whole TIE complement, it'll be bad numbers." He climbed up the ladder into the Z-95's cockpit, and started to flip the switches to check his systems. Both sublight thrusters looked fine, reactors was nominal. He charged the laser cannons up to full, as well as his shields. In that close of an engagement, capacity and durability would win out over raw speed. "Everyone, report in."

The four pilots for Bandit Group reported in one by one. Wedge allowed himself a little smile. He keyed on the fighter chatter channel. "So, I know Bandit Group won't be buying drinks in the galley tonight. That is, unless the Daggers think they'll be able to top us."

Something that almost resembled a snarl came from Silda. "Keep talking, Corellian. I'm going to be doing shots off your stomach tonight."

"My my, Hapes, what an awful little mind you've got there," Wedge chuckled. "We're going to do a combat launch the minute we get back to realspace. Full thrust out, punch through anything that isn't the VIP or a rebel."

It was two minutes before the ship dropped into realspace. He punched the throttle, the two sublights roaring to life as he blasted out of the Bulk Cruiser's hangar.

Wedge checked his scopes to orient himself, noting the blips on his scanner. He looked back up, confirming on his visuals. The _Riptide_ was a rounded, sleek craft that looked like a more symmetrical version of Corellian freighters. Pummeling it were four TIE fighters, broken off into two pairs. The dorsal gunner was giving it all he got, but the Imp pilots were drawing his fire while the other pair of wingmen would make a strafing run. His readings showed that the VIP ship was losing shields. A few more hits and it would be in more serious trouble.

"Bolt, form up on me. Piggy, Jolly, cover us, head off any other fighters that dispatch from the _Dominion_."

"Copy, Rogue," Piggy called out, dropping back as Wedge gunned his throttle. Bolt's Headhunter moved right next to his. He targeted the first TIE, and checked for a possible missile lock. The Headhunter had half a dozen concussion missiles, and while he wouldn't like to waste them on an opening salvo, he did wonder what would happen once he started acquiring a lock.

The nominal lead, who he had been targeting, must have had a cool head. He didn't try to juke quiet yet. He was waiting for when Wedge put his missile into space before starting to evade. Wedge dropped the locking, and instead brought up his lasers. The range was at the far edge of its lasers, but he wasn't as good a shot as he was for nothing. He tracked the shot, waiting until the ring on his HUD went green. He switched his lasers to dual fire, and pulled the trigger.

Twin lances of scarlet light flashed out, but instead of catching the lead, he caught the solar panels on the wingman. It spun out of control, exploding in a ball of light. Bolt's Headhunter started to shoot at the lead too, but the TIE screamed ahead, barreling away from them. Wedge cursed, and watched as it veered around to form up with the other group as the turret gunner fired on it. "Let's give 'em hell."

Luke manned the gun as capably as he could, but in space, it was the TIEs who had the advantage. Ahsoka was doing her best to keep the TIEs in his sights, but he was becoming overwhelmed.

Then the fighters showed up. The lead ship, a Z-95, scored a hit on one of the fighters, sending it careening into an explosion. It overshot the _Riptide_ , then pulled what Luke recognized as a Koirogan turn, using his momentum to carry his ship while he used the Headhunter's maneuvering thrusters to flip the ship around. The pilot seemed to be flying like it was the most natural thing in the Galaxy, a fact only proved further when it unleashed its next volley of shots. The pounding of scarlet laser bolts slammed into the group of TIEs, igniting all three of the remains.

A voice came over the private channel used by Rebel fleets. " _Riptide_ , this is Bandit Lead. Can I talk with Fulcrum?"

"Fulcrum here." Ahsoka said. "Glad you showed up when you did. Our hyperdrive's damaged. We can make a jump, but it'll be tracked."

"Then sit tight. _Firestorm_ is moving in to tractor you into the hangar. It's our job to cover you until it does."

"Appreciated, Bandits. We can provide sensor support if you need."

"Appreciated, but Phantom Squadron's already got an up on you."

Luke couldn't help but note how confident, young, and brave the pilot sounded. Luke found himself smiling as he peeled off his headset. He climbed down the ladder, knowing that they weren't going to have much chance to engage fighters from where they were going to be. He rushed up to the cockpit, taking the copilot's seat. "That was one hell of a move that pilot pulled off."

Ahsoka looked sideways towards Luke. "Careful there. You sound like you've either got a crush or hero-worship. I've got us in position to get tractored into the hangar." She checked the flight controls for a moment. "The Empire must have trailed our signature. Hopefully the Phantoms can get us out of here."

Luke watched through the viewport and on the sensors as the battle played out. The Bulk Cruiser moved up slowly, on an even approach towards the _Riptide_. Meanwhile, two CR-style corvettes headed off the _Dominion_ , which even Luke could recognize as a risky maneuver. Star Destroyers were meant for a full frontal assault, to plunge into enemy formations head on. The corvettes, even with the numbers advantage, were punching several weight classes too far above.

Green turbolasers, and blue ion cannon bolts slammed into the two rebel ships, as they shot back with their own rapid-firing lasers. Small explosions ignited on the hull of one of the corvettes. " _Corellian Star_ , this is _Firestorm_. You've got to pull out. You can't keep this up!" A woman's voice called out.

One of the corvettes pulled away, giving it a new angle. Its weapons were taken out of the gray, but it was replaced by four streaking Headhunters, firing angry red bursts of light, concussion missiles. While not impressive on their own, eight missiles slammed into the shields of the _Dominion_ , combining with the corvette's fire to bring the front shields down for just a moment.

"They've got it," Ahsoka growled. "We've got the time…" She murmured. The shudder of a tractor beam filled the ship, and she sighed. "We might actually be getting out of this."

" _Firestorm_ -actual to all fighters, recall. Hard combat landings! We are bugging out. Escape vector Besh."

Luke got the feeling that this was just the beginning, but he didn't voice that aloud. As they settled into the hangar of the _Firestorm_ , the only thing he wanted to think about was getting away from the Imperials.


	7. Rebels

As Ahsoka, Luke, and Winter walked through the corridors of the _Firestorm_ , escorted by two Rebel troopers, Luke couldn't help but find himself asking questions. "How did you get your hands on a carrier like this?" He asked one of the troopers.

The trooper, a Sullustan male, shot out a rapid fire answer that Luke knew just enough Sullusti to translate. "That's a better story for the Captain."

They were led onto the bridge of the ship, where Luke could immediately spot the Captain. A tall Arkanian Offshoot, she had hair even whiter than Winter's, with a streak of blue in it.

Captain Serrin wsan't particularly tall, but her makeshift uniform, a stark blue that seemed like an odd offshoot of old Republic ones, and her rigid demeanor compensated for any physical limits on her authority.

Her steely gaze focused first on Ahsoka, which Luke found to be a bit of a different experience. "The mysterious Fulcrum, at last."

Ahsoka nodded. "With Alderaan under military rule and my charge threatened, secrecy seemed to be less important now."

Serrin turned on Luke. "Prince Organa. Your Excellency, the news about Alderaan has been playing across the entire Holonet. Your mother, Queen Breha."

"As committed to protecting her people and nonviolence as ever. She stayed behind." Luke sighed. "At least the Imperials know they can't hope to rule the planet without her."

Serrin nodded. "We'll be in hyperspace another ten hours. We've been taking stock of our situation."

Ahsoka took the lead. "How did your squadron fare?" She asked.

"The _Corellian_ _Star_ took damage, and lost hull integrity in one of its cargo bays. We didn't lose any fighters, either."

"One of your pilots really saved our skins," Luke noted. "Bandit Leader, I believe?"

Serrin laughed at that. "Lieutenant Antilles, our best pilot. Wedge has a flair for the dramatic on occasion. Especially when he has an audience."

Wedge Antilles. Luke filed that away for later reference. "What's our present destination?"

"A point in deep space that we've played a hyperspace beacon at, then we'll chart a new course for Chandrila."

"Chandrila?" Ahsoka frowned. "We're staying in the Core?"

"I have my orders from Mon Mothma, Fulcrum. With the arrest of Bail Organa and the military being used to subjugate restless worlds, we need more than just a number of disconnected cells with singular links. No offense intended, of course."

Luke nodded. "Very well, I hope that's agreeable, Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka nodded. "I think that's about as reasonable as we're going to get." She sighed. "Why did the Empire decide to do this now?"

Serrin shook her head. "As best we know, this was done rapidly over the course of a week or two. There's been a few murmurs of possibilities, but the larger motivating factor seems to be the war with the Hutts. It's unpopular, dragging out, and becoming more costly with each passing week."

"The Emperor just wants to control everything," Luke scoffed. "The Empire hasn't been at peace for more than six months straight in more than ten years."

Ahsoka shook her head, but changed the subject. "Captain, I don't want to impose, but is it possible we can get quarters on the _Firestorm_ for the journey?"

Serrin nodded. "We've got one or two officer's bunks we can spare, certainly."

"If it's alright with you, Ahsoka, I would prefer to stay on the _Riptide_."

Ahsoka looked back to her. "That's up to you."

"Winter, right?" Serrin asked. "I had heard about you. Care to try your hand at some codebreaking and intel work?"

Winter offered a rare smile. "I think I could try my hand at it." She said.

"A holographic memory's always something we like to see." Serrin offered a thin smile. "In the meantime, Commander Tano, I'd like to speak with you on what to expect at Chandrila."

Ahsoka nodded. "Your office, then, Commander?"

Serrin laughed. "You have this mistaken for a Star Destroyer, I'm afraid. I've just got a desk in the captain's quarters."

"Still better than the bridge." She noted. "Let's go."

Luke found himself looking around as the two women departed the bridge. "What should I do?" He asked, feeling a sudden sense of helplessness. For once, he wasn't on a mission, or following orders.

Serrin smiled. "I'll have someone show you to your guest quarters. You'll be allowed free reign of most of the ship, with the exceptions of engineering and other ship-sensitive areas." She gestured for the Sullustan trooper. "Your Excellency, welcome aboard."

The quarters Luke was given were certainly larger than his on the _Riptide_ , if a little more spartan. He settled in, checking the Holonet for any news since their departure.

There wasn't much on official Imperial channels, and since he couldn't ask Winter to slice into more secure lines at the moment, he didn't have much to go off of. After about a half-hour of fruitless searching, he grew frustrated and shut off the link.

He left the quarters, eager to find something else to do. He was a little hungry, so he decided to consult with the ship's computer and check for the location of the mess. He walked through the corridors of the ship. Though still carrying the steel-gray bulkheads of an Imperial ship, there were a number of definitively non-standard decor. One of those was a crudely-painted stormtrooper helmet with the words "target practice" in blue beneath it.

He found the mess easily enough. If there was something a life of diplomacy and learning on Alderaan hadn't prepared him for, it was a bunch of pilots rowdy after an engagement.

The eight pilots were grouped around several bottles of liquor, in various shades of color and opacity. There was a blonde-haired woman lying on the table, laughing uncontrollably as a dark-haired man licked some liquor off her stomach. The man, a human only a few years older than Luke, held up a bottle of Corellian whiskey and shouted. "Let's hear it for the Bandits! Once again, outscoring the Daggers. Again."

Three other pilots let out loud whoops as they all took drinks. One of the pilots gestured to Luke. "Hey, it's one of the little nerfs we saved."

Luke smiled and walked over to the table. All of the pilots were out of their flight uniforms now, most of them wearing trousers, tank tops, undershirts, or some combination of them.

"I suppose I have you all to thank for your valiant effort." Luke said as he walked over. He gestured to a bottle of Neimoidian fire-brandy. "Mind if I grab a drink?"

One of the pilots, a huge Gamorrean, spoke. "Well, if a Prince would deign to meddle with us lousy jockeys." He had a metallic voice, tinny, and Luke realized suddenly that the pilot wasn't speaking through his natural voice, but a vocabulator in his throat, like a droid's.

"I think I can handle myself." Luke smiled. "Alderaanian boarding schools can be rather interesting." He took the bottle and poured himself a shot. "I do have one question, though. I want to know the pilot who vaped all four TIEs attacking our ship."

The dark-haired man who had just licked alcohol off of the other woman, smiled. "That would be me. Wedge," He wasn't a particularly tall human, but still taller than Luke. He extended his hand.

"Pleasure's all mine. Luke Organa." He shook Wedge's hand, then took the shot of fire-brandy. Contrary to the name, it was smooth going down, with a nutty taste to it. "That was some very nice flying out there."

Wedge smiled. "It does help when it's Imps you're going against." He said. "A headhunter's a decent enough match for one."

"And you took down four." Luke noted. His eyes met Wedge's, and he took a seat at the table. "I've always wanted to fly a snubfighter."

The woman who had alcohol licked off of her sat up. "Well, hang around the _Firestorm_ long enough, maybe you can talk one of us into flight lessons. Silda," She extended her hand, turning the heel of it up at Luke. "Dagger One."

Luke made the courtly gesture and kissed her hand. "Pleasure to meet you,"

Wedge laughed. "Hapes, go pick on someone who knows your game."

Silda offered a sly grin. "But this one's cute, Wedge."

"You're Hapan?" Luke asked, more curious than anything else. "I didn't think Hapans ventured past the cluster."

"Our wars with the Empire have opened us up to the Galaxy at large." She noted. "Some of us like to head out on our own." A thin smile crept over her lips. "A few more of us like to kill Imperials, despite that pesky peace treaty."

Luke chuckled, then looked back to Wedge. "Where'd you learn to fly like that? I didn't think I've seen someone fly like that outside of a holodrama."

Wedge shrugged. "I was in the Imperial Academy, but I dropped out after the Empire gave power to the Diktat on Corellia. I had friends in a cell, and I ended up with Phantom Squadron."

"If you had friends in a rebel cell, why were you at the Academy?" Luke asked, now honestly curious.

Wedge shrugged. "I just wanted to go to university after a few tours."

That got Luke to laugh just a little. "I don't think I've heard that one too often."

"You'd be surprised, honestly." Wedge said.

"Okay, I do have one question, though. This ship's Imperial. How did you get your hands on it?"

"We stole it. Ion torpedoes, boarding parties," The Gamorrean explained. "We worked very hard for it." He smiled. "Voort SaaBring, Bandit Three. You can call me Piggy."

"I could imagine." Luke said, and nodded. "It's a nice prize, especially for a cell like yours. I've seen a few, but none of them as well-equipped."

"Chalk that up to Captain Serrin," Wedge said as he poured himself a fresh drink. "She used to be a pirate. Got political, and had a change of heart. She brought her fleet over, and used it to capture the _Firestorm_. She sent out some feelers, and got some starfighter pilots to join her cell."

Luke shook his head. "It's impressive." He took another drink of the fire-brandy, swallowing it down. "What do you think about the whole meetup on Chandrila?" He asked.

Silda shrugged. "The Chandrilans will do their usual peace-mongering and speechification. Garm Bel Iblis and the Corellians will do their usual grandstanding."

Wedge pointed his bottle of whiskey like a weapon. "How dare you, Hapes. Iblis is a planetary treasure."

"Yes yes," Silda shrugged. "It'll be like every summit that's ever been done. Lots of talking, unable to set the differences apart. Except without Bail to oversee things, it'll fall apart and someone might just shoot someone else."

Luke made a face. "Was my father really all that was keeping that together?"

"From all I've heard. The Corellians and the Chandrilans won't see eye to eye. Even the Empire's new procedures won't stir Chandrila to action." Wedge shook his head. "And despite my like of him, Iblis will take the opportunity to become even more of a warmonger. He'll want an all-out war."

As Luke took another drink of his liquor, he couldn't help thinking he was just heading into a warzone just as dangerous as the Imperials he had just escaped.


	8. Journey to Chandrila

Luke hadn't ever felt the aftermath of an artillery barrage before. His head felt like his best guess, though. He stirred and tried to lift his head. The throbbing against it made him reconsider. He made a noise that sounded like a strangled Wookie.

He took a few more minutes before opening his eyes,. He wasn't in the mess any more, but what he assumed were the pilot barracks. The Headhunter pilots lined the bunks in various states of undress, including two of them who were sleeping in a bunk together.

Luke groaned a little as he heard a chime come from besides him. He realized very suddenly that it was coming from his shirt pocket, which was presently on the ground. Why was his shirt on the ground?

He grabbed the commlink out of the pocket and spoke groggily. "Luke here,"

"Someone had a little too much fun with the pilots." Ahsoka's cheery voice came over the comm. Luke wanted to throw the commlink away, very hard.

"You're evil and one of the Emperor's cronies." He moaned.

That drew a laugh. "You weren't in your quarters, so I figured you had partied a little bit."

Luke pulled on his shirt. "What's up?" He kept his voice down, trying not to disturb the other pilots as he started towards the door to the hall.

"Get cleaned up, then we've got some work to do." Ahsoka said. "And I recommend grabbing a cup of caf on the way up."

"Yes, Ahsoka," Luke sighed and tucked his comm away. He looked back at the sleeping pilots, Wedge in particular. Even asleep, he looked rather noble. Not as scruffy as some Corellians he had met.

He went up to his quarters for a quick sanisteam and a change of clothes, then to the mess for some caf. By the time he got to the hangar bay where Ahsoka was waiting, it was nearly midday. Ahsoka was grabbing her case of training tools and setting it on a nearby crate.

She took notice of him almost immediately, and smiled pleasantly. "So, what was the young Prince's poison of choice?"

"A vile Neimoidian fire-brandy that should be illegal." Luke said as he took a long drink from his caf.

"As I recall, it _is_ illegal, Luke, or at least contraband on most Imperial worlds."

Luke groaned. "That explains a lot." He looked over at her. "I'm guessing you didn't do anything as horrible?"

Ahsoka drew both of her lightsabers and handed one to Luke. "Oh, I had my fun last night. Captain Serrin is quite the host."

Luke registered a double take, almost dropping the saber in the process. "Wait, you and…"

Ahsoka gave him a lopsided grin. "I just know how to handle things in moderation, my young student." She teased. "Alright, today I'm going to show you the basics of what the Jedi called Form III. It has a lot of difference names. Soresu, the Way of the Mynock, or Perseverance."

Luke blinked. "What about Form II?" He said, recognizing that after the first lesson with Form I, he was missing a form.

"If you have to use Form II, we've run into problems that are bigger than you are right now. Makashi is about dueling. Soresu is more about defense, which is something important to understand. The lightsaber is a tool for defense, which you can use to protect others."

Ahsoka started to walk through the basic maneuvers and stances of the Form, starting first with slowed-down lightsaber strikes from Ahsoka, then full speed. The more they practiced, the easier Luke could find it to drop into the Force, to let it guide his actions, anticipating the next strike and where it could land.

For the most part, Ahsoka seemed impressed. "You're doing much better. It's time to work with the remotes now."

"As in plural?" Luke asked.

Ahsoka smiled. "Indeed. And we're going to carry on a conversation." She brought out two training remotes, activating them and tossing them into the air. They started to hover, floating around the hangar space and starting to orbit Luke. "You're a fast learner, Luke. But we all have to be right now."

Luke started to track the motions of the remotes, holding his lightsaber across his body in the Soresu opening stance Ahsoka had shown him. "The pilots mentioned that if the leaders of the cells are meeting, that Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis will be the primary factions."

Luke caught a remote jerk to one side and fire. He brought his saber up, sending the small pinprick of red scattering. Immediately, he felt a tug in the Force, the second remote making its move. He swept his saber back, and he caught the bolt, blocking it.

"Yeah. Mon Mothma's Chandrilan, so we'll be on her home turf. Chandrilans are…"

"Known for talking. A lot." Luke caught one of the next two blasts, but got punished with a stinging bolt when he couldn't deflect the second. "Augh. Sithspit. And Gram Bel Iblis is Corellian."

"And a true tribute to his people." Ahsoka chuckled. "He was a Senator before the Clone Wars. Even then he was…brash."

"And nearly two decades of Imperial rule probably haven't softened him." Luke remarked, slowly circling with his feet to draw both remotes in front of him.

"Mothma and Iblis are two opposites of the same spectrum. The only thing they have in common is a hate of the Empire." Ahsoka said. "Your father kept them from tearing each other apart."

"Then I guess that's my job now." He remarked. He watched both remotes, trying to circle him. They shot out a spatter of bolts, and Luke let his instincts guide him. He side-stepped to the right, bringing his saber to block where he would be instead of where he was. All but one of the five blaster bolts missed, and that last one only grazed him.

"How perceptive. It's going to be your job to make sure you aren't underestimated by anyone there. You're Alderaan."

Luke continued to go through the training exercise, making sure to pay attention to his footwork, always aware of where he was standing. "I'm ready for it. It's what I was raised to do."

Ahsoka smiled, just a little, and Luke got the sense that her mind wasn't entirely in the moment. Luke's slipped from it as well, and he was rewarded with a stinging blast to his arm. "Kriff!"

"Language, Luke." Ahsoka teased him.

Luke got a feeling that the week long journey to Chandrila was going to be a long one.

Time did crawl to a standstill in the doldrums of the ship. Their third day in hyperspace had Luke studying the backgrounds of the various cell leaders, Ahsoka's personal intelligence that she had from the various cells, as well as specific planets that the Empire had imposed martial law on. The list was impressive. Alderaan, Denon, Corulag, Ryloth, and a dozen others.

He had an idea of how he wanted to approach the meeting, but as a Republic general had said, no battle plan survived first contact with the enemy. He didn't want to view Iblis and Mothma as enemies, but they were the main opposition.

Luke was deep in a report about the capabilities of a Phoenix Cell in the Outer Rim when a voice piped up behind him. "You do realize you've been in the mess reading for four hours?"

That got him to perk up, blinking. Wedge was standing behind him, peering over his shoulder. Luke instinctively reached for his mug of caf, and was rewarded with bitter cold in return. "Ugh. What time is it?" He blinked, trying to bring himself out of reports.

"Fourteen-hundred ship time." Wedge sat down next to him at the table. "Want to take some time away from it?"

Luke sighed, and he turned off the datapad. "Probably a good idea." He remarked. "That caf was warm when I sat down." He promised.

"I'm sure," Wedge chuckled. "Listen, you could use some free time.

Luke thought about it a moment. "I'd like that," He said.

"How about we have that flying lesson? We've got two simulator balls in the ship. They were originally for TIE fighters, but we've loaded programs for the Z-95 in there as well."

That brought a grin to Luke's face. "I think I can definitely go for that."

Wedge tapped his shoulder. "Then get up, let's get you into a flight suit."

The borrowed flight suit didn't fit Luke particularly well, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Since they weren't going into the actual void, the suit was more there to adjust himself to the feeling of it. He checked the fastenings on his gloves as they entered the simulator room.

The room itself might have been a briefing area at some point, with a number of benches situated in front of a screen. The two simulator bubbles stood in front of the screen, looking like smaller, unarmored versions of the cockpit of a TIE fighter.

"The feeds from the simulator balls feed into the screen. It lets us analyze data and take notes." Wedge explained as he headed towards the simulator on the right. He climbed up the ladder and opened up the hatch, and gestured for Luke to do the same.

Luke dropped into the simulator, finding himself on the command couch. Luke pulled his helmet on, flipping down the HUD visor. He strapped himself in, and flicked the simulator on. "Well, this is something." Luke said. "Imperials didn't spare anything on these." He watched as data streamed across the screen.

"We think that before our capture of it, the _Firestorm_ was a training vessel. Green TIE squadrons would be assigned here to get some real world experience before being attached to a Star Destroyer." Wedge explained. "Load up the Z-95 interface on the simulator."

Luke found the shipboard computer and started to enter in the parameters for the Headhunter. The simulator whirred to life, and Luke settled into the pilot's seat, placing his hands on the throttle and stick. "Where do we start?"

"You've got some piloting experience from what I've heard?"

"Speeders mostly. I've also flown our ship a few times."

"Well, a freighter's its own beast. A Headhunter's got maneuverability, and it's got some good guns, but it's not as hearty. It's got deflectors, unlike a TIE fighter, but it's not invulnerable." The screen in front of Luke turned into a spatial field, with a planetoid of some sort beneath them. Stars dotted all the parts of his screen that weren't occupied by the brown, lifeless rock.

"So, where do we start?"

Wedge smiled. "Some basic piloting. Follow me down onto the planetoid. We're going to do some basic flight maneuvering. By the way, watch the inertial forces you'll pull. You don't feel it in a freighter, but in a fighter, you're going to be feeling the Gees."

Luke saw another Z-95 take off, waggling its wings as if waving to Luke and inviting him to join. Luke put more power into the Headhunter's engines, and followed Wedge down onto the planetoid. For once, he let himself fall into just the act of flying, something that came even more naturally to him than the Force.


	9. Diplomatic Solutions

Mara Jade found meditation to be a hard exercise. Her Sith training was steeped in mastering her passions, of letting her be the master of her own feelings. Meditation was required to help her tap into the more intricate side of the Force. She had to force herself to sink into the Force, to give herself to it.

Somewhere, out there, was Luke Organa. He had evaded her twice now. Once, with his diplomatic protection, and then again with the rebel scum. She hadn't ever had someone evade her like him. It was slightly infuriating. She dismissed the thought of the rebels, and the irritation she felt from her failure to capture him.

She swam in the currents of the Force, opening her up as her Master showed her. It was that opening that she made that allowed a pang of urgency to be felt. It roused her from her meditation, and made her open her eyes. "Blast," She hissed, and walked to the desk she had. She activated the holocomm, knowing that it was one of the Emperor's most trusted advisers who would be summoning the meeting.

Normally, there would be eight present for any meeting of the Black Council. The eight most important Force-using servants of the Emperor, his Apprentice excepted, were usually gathered at intervals to discuss various projects.

There were only two images present. Sariss, one of the mysterious Prophets, was present, though she had a look of annoyance on her features. The other member of the Council present was the Grand Inquisitor. The Pau'an man was thin, gaunt, like many of his ilk.

"My colleagues," He began, speaking in an educated voice. "I have news to report. The rebel cell I have been tracking on the Outer Rim has yielded rewards."

"Did you find the candy they had been stealing from younglings, Inquisitor?" Sariss hissed. The Prophetess was no lover of the Inquisitorium, Mara knew that much.

A thin smile revealed sharp, needle-like teeth. "We have a Jedi in our custody. He refuses to give us his name, or any of his comrades, but in due time we will have extracted this information from him." He promised.

"My, Inquisitor," Mara said. "Not even a name. Most prisoners of war, you can at least get that from them."

The Inquisitor swung his gaze to Mara. "I think you greatly overestimate your value to the Emperor." He stood up just slightly straighter. "I will keep the Council advised of any developments." The image of the Inquisitor disappeared, leaving Sariss and she alone.

Mara allowed herself the slightest smile. "I think that I enjoy teasing him a bit too much."

"I concur," Sariss remarked, and the blond woman sighed. "I have seen this Jedi the Inquisitor has captured, and I know that the Inquisitor will fail in his duty."

Mara arched an eyebrow. Mara did not believe that the Prophets of the Dark Side were as truly talented as they led people to believe. She did not put as much faith in the intangible side of the Force, that anyone could properly predict what would come.

"It's the first Jedi capture since I've joined the Council. Impressive." Mara remarked.

"It's been nineteen years since the New Order. The most the Inquisitors do are hunt the rumors of Jedi and chase wild thranta." She huffed. "Still, it's impressive. I await word of his failures. And, oh, Mara?"

Mara leaned back against her desk. "Yes?"

"Be careful about your quarry. This prince is strong in the Force. I have seen him in my meditations, and I can see he will be pivotal in the upcoming struggle." She closed her eyes. "May the Force be with you, Mara Jade."

"Thank you, Sariss." Mara said, and she cut the transmission. She felt unsettled by the whole ordeal. She knew Luke Organa would be hers, and she would deliver him to the Emperor. She didn't fail.

By the time Luke and the _Firestorm_ got to Chandrila, the week had passed by like a blur. There wasn't a second where Luke wasn't busy. The diplomatic preparations, then the training with Ahsoka, filled his days. Evenings were occupied with simulator flights, hurried meals, and a few minutes scanning the Holonet news for any mention of Alderaan and his mother.

The shuttle to Chandrila's largest orbital platform, Hesril Four, was quiet as the _Theta-_ class shuttle touched down. Luke focused on one of the meditations Ahsoka had shown him, trying to calm himself before the fun, as Winter had put it, began.

Winter was busy piloting the shuttle, with Ahsoka and Luke sitting in the rear seats. Ahsoka looked over to Luke, whispering. "Are you alright?" She asked, her voice soft.

Luke considered that a moment. "I will be. Just some mynocks in my stomach." He assured her. "Trust me."

Ahsoka smiled. "Of course I do, Luke. Just remember, they can talk a big game, but you are all there as equals."

Winter looked back to them as the ship was engaged with the docking tractor to Hesril Four. "Anything I should keep an eye out for while you two are at the negotiations?" She asked.

"Lock down the ship. We'll probably be several hours, so feel free to go explore thestation."

Winter thought about that for a moment. "I think I will." She said.

After the ship was in the hangar bay, they all filed out of the shuttle. Awaiting them was a small honor guard, wearing crisp blue Corellian Sector Navy uniforms. Luke was sure that their helmets actually shone with the lights of the hangar bay. In one unified motion, they clicked their boots, and the door to the hangar bay opened.

Garm Bel Iblis cut a fierce figure as he entered the hangar. The Corellian wasn't particularly tall, but the former Senator had a determination in his stride that Luke had only seen in a few people before. His dark hair was blemished with streaks of gray, which hung at about his shoulders. His own clothing had an air of military or privateer look to them, with near lines and knee-high boots.

Bel Iblis strode over to them, where he met Luke's eyes. "Prince Organa. Garm Bel Iblis, formerly of the Imperial Senate. It is an honor to meet you, and a pity that you are unaccompanied by either parent of yours."

Luke settled himself, summoning every inch of the diplomacy his parents had taught him. "Your words and thoughts are greatly appreciated. My father's arrest just proves the Empire's tyranny, and even as we are here, my mother works in her own ways to resist the Empire's occupation of Alderaan."

A sudden dawn of realization came across Garm's face, and Luke wasn't quite sure what it was at first. "Well spoken, Your Highness. Your mother's grace is apparent."

Luke allowed himself the thinnest of smiles. "Let me introduce my two companions." He gestured to Ahsoka. "My bodyguard and advisor, Ahsoka Tano."

"Senator Bel Iblis," Ahsoka nodded. "I remember you from my time on Coruscant."

Garm allowed himself the most roguish of smiles. "Well, I like to leave an impression. You must have been a youngling when I left the Senate before the Military Creation Act."

"Not quite a youngling, but before my apprenticeship began."

Garm turned back to Luke. "You travel with a Jedi? My, I underestimated the resources Alderaan's royal house had at its disposal. And your other companion?"

"Winter, my sister and friend." Luke said. "As per the request, I will bring Ashoka as my one aide into the meetings."

"Yes, Mon Mothma wants the talks kept as quiet as possible, so only the representatives and one aide are allowed." He snorted. "Mothma's typical trickeries." He gestured for them to follow. "We can begin immediately."

Luke lowered his voice as he spoke to Winter. "Do some recon. Talk with some of the Corellians and Chandrilans."

Winter smiled a little. "I'm sure I can find something out." She said, and slide towards the hangar door.

Luke, Ahsoka, and Bel Iblis started towards the doors to the hangar. Once they were in the hallway, the Corellian took the lead, walking them through the station. As he did, he spoke. "Now, I'm sure you're aware that this meeting is primarily to discuss the possibility of forming a military alliance between cells."

Luke allowed himself to make a passive tone to his voice, as if imagining aloud. "I would have thought that this was also to see about creating a unified leadership through which we could coordinate our efforts and present a single front against the Empire."

Bel Iblis looked over his shoulder at Luke, a faint smile on his lips. "Well, you've certainly got the brains of the family too. Let's get to work, then."

As they walked through the station, Luke could sense something off. He felt that Bel Iblis was hiding something, and he wasn't sure what-yet.

They reached the meeting room, a circular room with a center table. The room only had three occupants. One of them was a Corellian woman, with dark skin and wearing the same faux-uniform the honor guard had.

Mon Mothma and her aid sat at the table. Mothma was a woman of middle-age, fiercely intense in her gaze. She had auburn hair, with icy eyes and a composed stance. "I see we are all here." Mon Mothma rose, and she bowed her head politely. "Prince Organa,"

"Senator Mothma, a pleasure to finally meet you." Luke walked to the table. He gestured to Ahsoka. "My aide and bodyguard,"

"Ahsoka Tano." Mothma said. "I hadn't seen you since your trial in the Senate."

A little smile crossed her features. "That was quite some time ago." Ahsoka murmured. "I think we should start."

"Of course," Mothma motioned to the chairs, and Luke sat down in one of the chairs provided. Bel Iblis sat down in one the others, where his aide supplied him with a number of datapadds.

"Before we begin," Luke said. "Let's go through a stock of exactly who is bringing which groups to the table."

Mothma nodded. "Indeed. The Chandrila delegation represents Chandrila, as well as many Inner Rim and Colony factions who find the Empire's extreme warmongering to be detrimental to galactic society. Chandrila has worked with the Bothan SpyNet to help coordinate many of these Republic-oriented groups and organize them."

"Bothans," Bel Iblis snorted. He sighed, then continued. "I represent the Corellian sector here, as well as a few bandit groups that will for the moment remain nameless."

Luke paused for a moment. "I represent the former government of Alderaan, and the contacts that we had made in linking the cells throughout the Outer Rim and the Empire."

That gave Bel Iblis paused. "That would mean…" He looked to Ahsoka. "You're Fulcrum."

Ahsoka gave the smallest smile. "I'd like to join you at this table as an equal, not just an aide."

"In truth," Luke said. "She's the one you really want here, not me."

Mothma looked over to Luke for just a moment. "I think we can accept a fourth member of these negotiations."

One of the aides produced a fourth chair, which Ahsoka relaxed in. Ahsoka brought out her own datapadd. "As Fulcrum, I serve as the liaison for a score of rebel cells. All told, we have about sixty ships in service, along with ten active squadrons of fighters. One of those ships is the _Firestorm_ , which we came here on. There's some assorted small craft as well."

"That's impressive." Bel Iblis noted. "That many cells must take quite a bit of work to run."

"They operate on their own, but they do need coordination and they can give me intel." Ahsoka supplied.

Bel Iblis nodded. "That's exactly what we need, though. A military hierarchy so that we can organize the cells, and strike a blow against the Empire."

"Violence in itself is useless without goals to use it for." Mothma said.

Suddenly, Luke understood that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped. He glanced over to Ahsoka and realized that this wasn't going to be settled in one afternoon.


	10. Aggressive Negotiations

The past three days had tested every inch of the diplomatic upbringing that Luke had received. He wanted to shoot Bel Iblis. Or Mon Mothma. Or maybe find some more of that vile firebrandy that Wedge had with the Bandits. He wasn't sure how Bail had worked with those two previously. Between talks of military structure, diplomatic goals, and governmental procedures, Luke was sure that he was ready to vent the entire conference into space.

He had retreated to his room aboard the station, where Winter was working on coming up with a new strategy for the day's talks. What little Winter had been able to peace together had mostly fit what the previous days of negotiations. The Corellians wanted a military organization to the cells, and Mothma wanted a more formal organization to the nascent rebellion. Luke personally wanted to champion a middle ground, but he realized that the differences between Mothma and Bel Iblis were already too entrenched. There needed to be another voice, or something to change it.

The door chime for the room beeped, and Luke called out. "Come in!"

Ahsoka came into the quarters, holding a datapadd in one hand. "We've got a problem."

"Beyond two former Senators who like listening to the sound of their own yelling?" Luke asked, voice unable to hide the frustration he had in his voice.

"Beyond that." Ahsoka sighed. "I just got a notice from one of the rebel cells on the Outer Rim. This one's stationed on Lothal, where they've been disrupting Imperial operations there." She explained. "One of their members is a former Jedi named Kanan. He's been captured."

Luke looked up from his reading, a coldness settling in his stomach. "You mean the Empire's captured a Jedi?"

Ahsoka nodded. "He's been taken to the Imperial sector patrol base on Mustafar. The Empire's Inquisitors are going to take him apart until they've gotten everything they can from him."

Luke frowned. "What do you know about Kanan?"

"He was a Padawan during the Clone Wars. He's a good man, from what my contact in the Lothal cell's told me."

Luke nodded. "Winter, what do you know about the Mustafar base?"

Winter thought for a moment. "It's a dock and supply base for the outlying systems. It's typically staffed by two _Acclamator_ -class cruisers, but if Jarrus is there, they might have recalled other ships to assist in the protection of the base."

Luke looked to Ahsoka, and nodded. "We're going after him." Luke said, with an assurance that he hadn't felt since leaving Alderaan.

"Excuse me?" Ahsoka said. "Luke, I-"

He grabbed his commlink. He paged the assistants to Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma. "We need an emergency meeting. Now." He turned off the link, then turned to Ahsoka. "We've got the thing we needed to change this. Follow my lead." He said.

Ahsoka let a little grin cross her face. "Sure thing, Apprentice." She said, with just a little hint of mirth.

Around twenty minutes later, the late-night meeting had begun. Bel Iblis didn't particularly look like he enjoyed being stirred, though he was sipping caf with the measured stoicism of a military man who had been roused too many times in his life. Mothma seemed completely unfazed, and Luke wondered if the Chandrilan slept.

"I'm curious to know what Prince Organa considered so desperate he needed to meet at this hour." Bel Iblis grumbled.

Luke placed a datapadd in front of Bel Iblis with a copy of the information Ahsoka had given him, then another in front of Mon Mothma. "Ahsoka's intelligence has told us that the Imperials have captured a Jedi, Kanan Jarrus. Jarrus is one of us. He's been fighting the Empire, and we cannot leave him in their hands." He sensed that objections were coming from both sides, but Luke decided to storm on.

"We are fighting a Galactic Empire that doesn't care about our petty squabbles. A rebel, one of our own and a Jedi, is sitting in an Imperial prison, and we have the resources to save him. If we work together, we can do this. We can unite the cells, do something, and show the Empire that there is a united front against them. We can figure out the details later, but now we need to do something."

A silence hung through the air, hanging for a minute. Ahsoka spoke next. "We can assemble the cells, and if we can do this together, that's more proof than anything we can talk about that we can work together, make an Alliance that will hold up. If we can strike a blow against the Empire, we can only grow from here."

Garm Bel Iblis frowned, thinking for a moment. "Where's the Jedi being held?"

"Mustafar. It's an Imperial outpost. There's a station there that they're holding Kanan in." Ahsoka explained.

Mothma thought for a moment. "I can spare a medical frigate, the _Redemption_." She said.

"That's a start." Ahsoka said, and she looked over to Bel Iblis. "How about you, Senator?"

"Between the Corellian sector, the only forces I know that we could divert to Mustafar in time would be three gunships. I'll contact them immediately."

The rest of the meeting was a blur. Assembling what they had, they would meet in Atravis, an Outer Rim system close to Mustafar, and stage there before conducting the raid.

As they dismissed the meeting and reached the corridors to walk back to their quarters, Luke remarked. "That went better than I expected."

"What did you expect?" Ahsoka asked him.

Luke shook his head. "For them to toss me out on my backside, and to have a perfectly good excuse to run off and do this on my own."

Ahsoka groaned. "You've got too much of your parents in you." She sighed.

Luke realized she said parents. Not just father. He would definitely need to ask about it later. When they weren't saving someone.

The next few days were a blur. Captain Serrin, who had assumed command of the task force, had a new styling of Commodore. The flotilla that the rebel cells had assembled was impressive, to say the least. The most impressive was Phoenix Squadron, commanded by Admiral sato. Three Corellian corvettes and a squadron of A-Wings, they packed the biggest punch. There were two groups of armed freighters, which had been made into a makeshift bomber squadron armed with proton torpedoes. Iblis's Corellian delegation added three more gunships.

Luke looked over the final numbers. Six Corellian light craft, one medical frigate, eight freighters of various classes, eight Headhunters, a _Marauder_ -class corvette, twelve A-Wings, and the _Firestorm_.

There was also the last arrival, the _Ghost_. Compared to the _Riptide_ , it was a monster of a ship, he thought. The crew couldn't even dock it in the _Firestorm_ 's hangar bay. They sent a shuttle over, the last group to come over for the briefing on the _Firestorm_ 's bridge.

The captain of the Lothal rebels was a Twi'Lek woman dresed in coveralls. While she wasn't physically imposing, something about the way she walked immediately told Luke that she was in charge.

Ahsoka extended her hand to the captain. "Ahsoka Tano, Fulcrum."

"Nice to finally meet you in the flesh. Hera Syndulla." The two shook hands, and Luke noticed the rest of the party.

The two humans looked remotely his age. One was a girl with hair that looked like a sunset after a storm. She wore Mandalorian armor that matched her hair, with her helmet tucked under one arm. The other was a young man, shorter than even Luke. Luke immediately felt a difference in him, something he noticed with the weapon on his side.

"Is that a lightsaber?" He asked, voice very soft.

The boy looked down to his side. "Yeah,. I'm Ezra. Kanan's my…teacher, I guess."

Luke felta little surge of curiosity. "You're a Jedi?"

"Not really." Ezra laughed softly. "You're that Alderaanian prince, right?"

"Luke." He said, offering a little smile. "Ahsoka's my teacher. Don't havea lightsaber yet, though."

The Mandalorian elbowed Ezra in the side. "Come on, we've got a briefing. You can dork out over crazy religions after we've got a plan."

The two of them went to stand next to Hera around the holotable in the center of the bridge, while Luke joined Wedge near Ahsoka.

Commodore Serrin started her briefing. "Firstly, I wish to welcome all the Rebel cells that have joined together for this momentous operation. This will hopefully be the first time that we work together to strike against the Empire, the first of many. Now that all the commanders are here, let's get started."

A holographic image popped up on the table, showing a space station flanked by two _Acclamator_ -class cruisers, their spearhead-like silhouettes threatening even in their smaller sizes. "This is Mustafar Orbital, the station where Kanan Jarrus has been held. Mustafar Orbital is protected normally by two cruisers, the _Vigilance_ and _Onderon_. However, with a prize like a Jedi, we can expect local reinforcements might have been called in.

"We'll divvy up the fleet into groups. Phantom Group will compose of the _Firestorm,_ our two CR-75s, and the _Marauder_. We'll act as the reserve group, ready to deploy to whatever threat is most apparent. Star Group will be the three Corellian gunboats, which will provide direct engagement with the _Acclamators_."

The Corellian commander, Bel Iblis's aide, had a wan smile on her lips. "Don't worry, we can handle the heat." She said in that typical Corellian bravado.

"Phoenix Squadron, led by Commander Sato, will be leading the attack on first, the fighter screens, then on to the capital ships," Serrin continued. "Bandit Group, composed of the Headhunters and our freighter screen, will be the tip of the spear. Their job is to see the _Ghost_ to Mustafar Orbital. The _Ghost_ will be carrying Spectre Group and Ahsoka Tano. Bandit will be tasked with bringing down station defenses to allow the _Ghost_ access to their docking bays."

Serrin took a deep breath before continuing. "The primary goal of the mission is to see Bandit Group completes their objective, and can get aboard. How long it will take them to accomplish their primary goal can be variable. We need to secure a perimeter around the station, and hold off any reinforcements that arrive while the team works to get aboard."

Hera spoke up next. "We'll have Chopper, our astromech, working to slice into the station's computers, and hopefully get us through any security barriers."

"If I may," Luke spoke up. "What if we had a squad of troops to act as a diversion? The _Ghost_ or another ship tailing behind could dock and attempt to take station control as a diversion. Get a team into their command center, and we could have a major advantage."

Serrin nodded. "An excellent idea, your Highness. We've got an assault team on _Firestorm._ They'll be on the _Ghost_ , ready to deploy once you're aboard."

Hera smiled. "We can take the passengers."

"Excellent. We'll depart in two hours. Man your stations, and may the Force be with you." Serrin said, and the crowd around the table started to disperse.

Ahsoka was about to turn away, when Luke walked up to her. "Ahsoka, I want to ask a favor."

She tilted her head slightly, looking at him curiously. "You want to join me onn the team." She said, voice soft.

"I don't want to just stay here." He said, his voice soft. "I want to help."

There was a moment of pensive silence, before Ahsoka nodded. "Very well. But there's two things you'll need if you're going to come with me."

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"The first is mission gear. Blaster, commlink, scanner, the usual." She then held out a hand, one of her lightsabers in it. "And this. You'll need one."

Luke took the lightsaber into his hand, and clipped it onto his belt. "Thank you."

Ahsoka placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll have to learn sometime. Don't worry, I'll be with you every step of the way."


	11. Rebel Strike

Combat launches were nothing new for Wedge. Z-95s weren't factory-equipped with a hyperdrive, though a few of the Bandit fighters had after-market drives installed. The typical combat launch was something that had been perfected thousands of years ago. The fighter controller would give them the signal to punch it when they dropped to realspace, and the squadron would come out of the hangar, hungry and ready to shoot the first thing that wasn't friendly.

As the streaks of hyperspace disappeared from the opening of the hangar, replaced with the dots of stars and the backdrop of Mustafar, Wedge shouted into his comm. "Bandits, Daggers, let's light them up!"

Eight Z-95 starfighters launched from the bay of the _Firestorm_ , screaming ahead as they entered the fray. Wedge immediately brought up the scopes, checking in with the Fleet sensor network. Bandit Group was already assembled, the six freighter bombers and the _Ghost_ flying in formation. They had made an improvised speartip formation, with the _Ghost_ flying at the rear. "Form up, squadron, let's give them a clear path."

"Copy, Lead." Silda's voice came over the comm on the squadron channel. If it had been anything but a war zone they were about to enter into, Wedge would have felt a swell of pride at being recognized as the lead of the fighters. But there was a mission.

The Imperial forces were substantially more than the reported forces, but Wedge knew that was to be expected. There were the two _Acclamator_ -class cruisers, _Onderon_ and _Vigilance_. They were spaced out from the station, positioned closest to the fleet on the outskirts of the planet's gravity well. Closer to the station was a _Raider-_ class corvette. Like the bastard child of a TIE and a Star Destroyer, it was the smallest capital ship Wedge knew of in the Imperial Starfleet. It was an anti-fighter platform that could tangle with most small ships, especially with its numerous concussion missile batteries. The last line of defense was the _Indomitable_ , a _Gladiator_ -class starship that was positioning to move outbound to join the two cruisers.

Wedge did some quick math. "That is…a lot of fighters that will be coming out for us." Wedge noted.

"Six squadrons from the ships, One from the station." Piggy provided, his tinny, more mechanical voice coming over the comm. "Eighty-plus fighters."

"That's a lot of TIEs. Thanks." Wedge watched the first fighters being deployed from the _Acclamators_ , alert fighter groups, those closest to their craft. They quickly moved to engage the oncoming Bandit Group. Star Group was barreling ahead, positioned slightly above them to have a direct line at the cruisers. Phoenix Group's A-Wings streaked ahead, the speed demons juking left and right, like restless predators.

Wedge keyed in his comm, and he started to formulate a plan. "Bandits, break to bearing aught-mark-three-forty. We're going to avoid the main engagement. Leave that to the A-Wings. Our main goal is the station."

He pushed down on his stick, tilting his craft lower, throttling up. He brought up his targeting computer. They were forty clicks out from the station, and it was going to be a hell of a ride.

The _Indomitable_ launched fighters, two squadrons. It held one in reserve, meeting with the station's fighter squadron and holding pattern. The other squadron moved to the _Raider_ , moving as one to engage the Bandits.

"Sithspit," Silda hissed. "That _Raider_ will chew us to pieces."

"Watch it, Hapes." Wedge flicked through his ship's computer, finding the tracer program he had in the ship's navicomputer. "Bombers, we're going to make a torpedo run on the _Raider_."

The leader of the freighter bomber group answered back. "On the _Raider_? We'd never get close enough for a lock."

"No, you're not going to lock on to the _Raider_. You'll lock on to my engine signature."

"Oh." The freighter captain paused for a moment. "Oh, I see." He said, with a slight bit more clarity. "Tell us when to lock."

Wedge hit a few keys on his console, activating the program. The Raider was still ten clicks away, but that distance was closing rapidly. "On my mark. Bandits, let's form up. We've got to blast our way through until I can get to two clicks."

"Copy," The chorus of pilots responded back.

Wedge throttled up, and hoped this wasn't a bad idea.

Emerald lasers streaked across his vision as the distance closed between them. He juked his Headhunter left and right, rolling the craft to present a constantly moving target. Even this far out, a stray blast from the cannons on the _Raider_ could still do some serious damage to his fighter. Wedge let himself trust his instincts, juking and dodging as he activated the tracer programs.

The last half-hour of Luke's life was the most excruciating moments he had lived through. Even on the _Ghost_ , its hefty shields were taking a beating. The turrets of the ship were manned by the _Ghost_ 's crew, while Luke, Ahsoka, and Winter sat in one of the cargo holds with the strike team. The ship rattled and rocked as he felt the hits rack upon them again and again.

"I know it's not easy," Ahsoka whispered, as the ship lurched, speed quickly reducing. They must have been getting within the station's guns, and slowing for their approach. The station's cannons peppered the shields, causing a small constant shudder as they got closer.

"You fought in the Clone Wars," He said, keeping his voice quiet. "How do you do this? Not having control over the situation."

"We've got the best pilot in the Outer Rim flying us in. We've got a great crew keeping the fighters off of us." Ahsoka said. "We've got a good strike team and the best slicer I've met as our diversion. We've just got to do our job."

"Thirty seconds!" Hera's voice came through the crackling comms. "Hold on!" The ship rocked with a heavy groan, another large explosion.

There was half a minute of hellish, scraping and blasts as Luke was very sure the Ghost's landing struts hadn't made it fully down. Luke knew that wasn't a good thing. He made a grunting noise as he pulled himself off from the hastily-constructed crash harness that had been set up. Ahsoka was out first, hitting the release for the landing ramp.

"Stay back," She said calmly. "I'll clear the hangar."

Luke watched as she descended down the ramp. He could feel Ahsoka drawing on the Force, making her faster, more in tune with her surroundings. The _Ghost_ had come down at an angle, not quite straight into the hangar, but slightly tilted in one direction.

Stormtroopers and Imperial Army troopers had lined up outside the ship, blasters raised. There was even an E-Web emplacement that had been hastily set up.

Then Ahsoka reached the bottom of the ramp and activated her lightsaber. A beam of white light came to life with a _snap-hiss_ , and the hangar bay came to life with blaster fire.

Ahsoka raised one hand, and a shock of Force energy rippled outwards, knocking down half a dozen troops, sending them flying back. She twisted her lightsaber's blade to block most of the shots, then moved unnaturally fast, her body being enhanced by the Force. The fifteen troops still standing were distracted by her lightning movements, and Luke took it as an opportunity.

He moved down the ramp, raising his blaster. He lined up his first shot, and a stormtrooper went lined up the second shot, and another went down. The second shot got the attention of some of the troops, and Luke dashed from the ramp towards cover, some shipping crates. He pulled on the Force, propelling him faster as he ran for his life.

Luke dove behind the crates, and the violent blaster bolts slammed into the other side of the crates. The Mandalorian, Sabine, rolled a pair of detonators down the ramp into the crowd, scattering the troopers.

Ahsoka used the chaos, basking in it. She moved from cover to cover, quickly dispatching troops before they could even respond. She was a blur of violence, efficiency.

The last one to fall was the E-Web, the portable heavy laster. She leapt into the air, and ended up slicing the barrel off the blaster. She took out the last stormtrooper, and checked the hangar. "Alright, we're clear." She said.

Luke came out from cover, and the group reconvened. Ahsoka took command of the situation. "Sabine, Winter, Ezra. Take the fireteam from _Firestorm_ and take the Command Center. Luke and I will head to the prison levels. May the Force be with us all." She said, and she started to the door to the hangar.

Luke looked to Winter. "Keep your head down up there," Luke said, his voice soft.

Winter gave him a smile. "Don't get yourself killed, Luke. Or Ahsoka. I want both of you in one piece."

"Promise," He whispered to his sister as he headed off. Outside the station, the battle raged, and Luke got the sense that there was something further in the station, something waiting for them.


	12. The Breaking of the Dam

The original plan had been to use the turbolifts. Luke hadn't considered that they would shut them down. Climbing down an access tube was hardly a highlight of his week, Luke noted.

Luke didn't look down. He knew if he did, he would look at a very long fall down to the dregs of the space station. He kept his eyes ahead on the ladder they were descending. Every level they reached, Luke would check his datapad to see if it was the detention level. After ten minutes of descent, they reached the detention level.

Luke had to make a little leap to reach the small crawlspace that the detention level led to. He moved into the crawl space, with Ahsoka behind him. Luke pulled out a pair of stun grenades. "I'll pop the access hatch, and we'll go from there." He said as he started to find the access panel for the crawlspace hatch. He hit the release for it, and it slid up to reveal the detention level corridor.

As he peeked his head out, he took stock of the situation quickly. It was one long corridor, in the typical Imperial military style. At either end of the corridor, there was a work station where troops were securing down the level.

Luke tossed a stun grenade in each direction, using the Force to enhance the strength of his throw, enough to ensure that the grenades reached their targets. There was a quick whine, then electric sizzles as the stun grenades went off.

They quickly moved out of the crawlspace, Luke holding his blaster at the ready. None of the troops were getting up, so that was at least a small favor.

They walked down to one of the terminals, where Luke started to check the prisoner records. "Okay, Kanan Jarrus is in cell AA-23." He said as he started to lok through the system. The door locks wouldn't engage, though.

He thumbed his commlink. "Winter, how's the progress going?"

"We've just secured the operations center. I'm going to start getting us into the computer systems." He heard typing on her end. "I've tapped into the commlines. You're going to have company down there, Luke. First response team enroute to the detention level."

Luke groaned as he moved away from the console. Better to get into the cover in the middle of the room. "We need you to unlock cell AA-23."

"What? Don't you two have lightsabers?" Winter asked.

Ahsoka shook her head. "No good. There's magnetic seals on the cells. We have to turn it off to get the cell open."

"I'll work on it." Winter said. "Give me a few minutes."

"We're not going to have a few minutes, Winter." Luke protested. "Troops are incoming."

"We'll do it." Ahsoka said, then she nodded, drawing her saber. "Let's get ready."

They took up positions behind the bulkheads of the corridor, each on either side. It was two minutes before the hatch opened, and stormtroopers flooded the room.

They moved as a single, coordinated unit, two troopers at the back blasting the corridor with covering fire as the rest of the squad moved in.

Luke and Ahsoka both lit their sabers, the snap-hiss of their activation filling the air. They both stepped out from the cover of the bulkhead, advancing on the troopers. Luke let the Force guide him, moving his saber to block the strikes, sending the scarlet bolts away as they advanced.

Ahsoka was a whirlwind of motion. Her white saber flicked and swung, striking the bolts in such a manner that each one bounced back at the attacking troops. It had its own dangerous beauty to every moment, like an intricate dance taht was rehearsed instead of the chaos of combat.

They reached the end of the corridor, in the control room. Luke used the Force to enhance his speed, and dashed forward He brought his saber blade across the chest of one of the troops, then swung it to block a blaster bolt he instinctively knew was coming on his left.

He whipped out his blaster, putting two bolts into the trooper. He kept his saber in his left hand, moving to put his back to the wall, facing any remaining troops. Instead, he saw Ahsoka, turning off her lightsaber, a mass of dead stormtroopers around her.

She pulled out her commlink. "Winter, how's it coming?"

But there wasn't an answer. Every door of the detention level opened, and Luke realized that it wasn't Winter.

Luke ran down the corridor, finding the cell Kanan Jarrus was in. He was there, looking the owrse for wear. He was bloodied and beaten, strewn over the floor of the cell.

"Kanan," Ahsoka rushed to his side, and checked his vitals. "Still alive." She lifted him, which drew a groan. "That's good. If he can groan, he's still alive."

"That can be remedied."

Luke spun around, locating the voice that came from the turbolifts. Luke felt a disturbance in the Force, like a cold wet feeling had been draped over his back. He turned to face the voice.

He was a tall, gaunt figure, a Pau'an all in black. He drew a lightsaber from his belt, and activated it. It burned with an angry red glare. "You are too young to be a Jedi, even one of the younglings from the Temple, Prince Organa."

Ahsoka, holding Kanan, glared at the Inquisitor. "You would know." She hissed.

"You know him, Ahsoka?" Luke asked. He activated his own lightsaber, standing between Ahsoka and the Inquisitor.

"Padawan Tano, the last time we met was at your trial." He smiled, revealing jagged teeth. "You now style yourself the trainer of this boy?"

Ahsoka grimaced. "Luke, get Kanan to the turbolift." She instructed him. "I'll handle him."

Luke deactivated his lightsaber, then stepped back. He took Kanan's shoulder, even if the Jedi was a good deal heavier than him. He backed away slowly, watching as the two former Jedi both moved towards each other. Ahsoka let her lightsaber ignite, and they both held their lightsabers in a duelist's salute.

Then it began. Luke had never seen two beings move with such speed, grace, and ferocity. White and red blades danced together, with no clear dominance emerging in the first few strikes. Luke watched as the Inquisitor made quick, precise maneuvers, using the limited space of the hallway to turn it into an improptu fencing match.

Ahsoka wasn't having any of it. She ducked and weaved, dropping down to try and make a strike at the Inquisitor's legs. He blocked low, then tried to bring a strike at her head. She brought her saber up, catching the blade in a horizontal block. The two pushed on each other for a long moment before disengaging, an explosion of Force energy knocking both back.

Luke was brought out of his spectacle when his commlink blinked. "Luke! We just got through the base channels. What's going on?"

"There's…something down here. We found Kanan. He needs medical attention. I need the assault team down here to bring him out. Ahsoka and I need help!"

"They'll be down there in two minutes, Luke. Hold on until then."  
Luke knew he had to at least try. He reached into the Force, ignoring the tide of adrenaline, focusing. His lightsaber crackled to life, and he joined Ahsoka.

The Inquisitor hissed as he saw Luke approach. He side-stepped Luke's initial strike, allowing him to overshoot, leaving Luke and Ahsoka on either side of him. "A basic attack." He hissed as he thumbed a switch on his lightsaber. A second blade shot out, and he assumed a new stance to be able to pay attention to both Luke and Ahsoka. "Form One, in a duel? My, Padawan Tano, how the Jedi have fallen."

Luke and Ahsoka's eyes met, and he realized they needed to change strategies. However, the Inquisitor wasn't giving them any chance to discuss it. He knew Luke was the weaker link, and he went after Luke.

Luke had to work to stay on defense. Each strike was fast, setting an erratic rhythm he could barely keep up with. Once Luke thought he had it figured out, the Inquisitor would strike at Ahsoka. He kept himself between them in the center of the hall, like a Sarlaac, only lashing out when he found it advantageous.

The battle happened in seconds, but each moment was an eon to Luke. He kept trying to find any weakness in the Inquisitor's style, but Luke was spending too much time on defense. Then Luke had an idea.

"Catch!" Luke tossed his saber to Ahsoka, at the same time using the Force to accentuate his speed. He hopped onto the wall of the hall, then used the angle to launch himself over the Inquisitor's reach.  
Ahsoka caught the second saber in mid-air, and brought it down in an overhead swing. Luke rushed back to the control room, while Ahsoka started to retreat as well.

"So young, untrained." The Inquisitor chided. "He would make an excellent student for the Emperor." He simply advanced on them, in no particular rush. Luke wondered where in blazes was the assault team. They needed to leave. Now.

Ahsoka leveled her sabers in a ready position. "You won't lay a hand on him. Luke!" She tossed his saber back to him, and he joined at her side.

The station shook with a rumbling vibration, one that lasted several seconds. "Assault missiles, blast." Luke hissed.

"We are rather loathe to give up our quarry," The Inquisitor said. He brought his saber in, striking at Luke, and Luke moved with a quick block, holding his blade in a downwards maneuver. Ahsoka used the moment to strike, taking a slash at his waist. The Inquisitor had to move his blade to block the strike, giving Luke just the opportunity he needed. He brought the saber down and struck at the Inquisitor's arm, severing it at the elbow.

The Inquisitor tried to strike back at Luke, but ended with Ahsoka's saber, penetrating his heart in one quick strike.

It was over just as suddenly as it had begun. The station shook again, more missiles rocking the frame of it.

The turbolift opened, and Winter and the assault team stepped out. "We've got a Star Destroyer closing in, and TIE Bombers are launching assault missiles at the station. We've got to get out of here!"

They hurried into the turbolift, carrying Kanan. Luke felt a disturbance in the Force, something he had never felt before. It was like a brand held above his face, the heat present, uncomfortable, a fiery gaze held into him from the Force.

He knew that there were worse things than the Inquisitor out there.


	13. Return

Coruscant was the festering slime pit that also happened to be the center of the Galaxy. If there was a bright center to the universe, politically, it was Coruscant, or as it was now known, Imperial Center. With the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, the main purpose of the planet was support the mammoth structure that was the Imperial bureaucracy.

Her master didn't even use his palace on the surface of the planet. He preferred to reside in his skyhook, where he would receive more important visitors. As the Decimator transport that Mara Jade was traveling on approached the skyhook, she felt the warm, intense power of her master wash over her. She steeled herself, and let herself focus on just watching the skyhook as they drew closer.

When they docked on the skyhook's hangar, Mara took her things, where they would be transported to her ship, the _Jade Fang_ , and handed them off to one of the service droids as she walked through the corridors of the orbital mansion.

After the Clone Wars and the Emperor's ascent, droids had fallen out of favor. While they still pervaded society, it was more in fashion with Imperial stylings to have live attendants. The Emperor, perhaps a bit ironically, mostly kept droids as his personal staff. They ranged from little astromechs that saw to the maintenance the palace, mouse droids that scattered through the halls, and protocol droids that saw to the Emperor's needs.

Mara knew the way. She came out of the corridor in the main prominent feature of the skyhook, an open area which contained the Emperor's palace. It contained a temple as its main building, with rock features surrounding the step pyramid. Vines grew all over the rocks, providing slashes of green against the dark stones.

As she came closer to the temple, she saw one figure already leaving. She recognized it as one of the clones. This one wore a General's rank on his Imperial Army uniform. She inclined her head. "General," She said, not sure of his name until she got close enough to read the name plate. "Fox. How's the Emperor today?"

"As ever." He shook his head. "Were you involved with Mustafar?"

"My quarry was there. I was on the _Dominion_ , which arrived after the Rebels had fled. We were there doing mop up afterwards. I took a transport back to Imperial Center."

"Well, maybe you won't get the worst of it. But the Apprentice is with him today."

That sent a little shiver down Mara's spine. "And…" She frowned.

"As…charming as ever." Fox grunted. "Watch your back in there."

"Sound advice, General. If I may, what was the conversation you had with him about?"

"The Legion, of course." While there were many Legions, split between the Imperial Army and its more elite brother, the Stormtrooper Corps, there was one that was simply the Legion. The 501st. It had been alive longer than Mara, and had been involved in every major operation the Empire had conducted. The insurrection of Kamino, the Mandalore Campaign, even the failed Hapan Expedition. It was the elite of the elite.

"Of course." It meant the Emperor probably had new plans for the Hutt campaign.

Mara chose not to dwell much on it. Imperial politics and foreign affairs weren't her hand. She ascended the steps of the temple onto the first landing, entering into what was the Emperor's main audience chamber.

It was a mostly open room, with a holotable built into the floor. It was twenty meters wide, based in front of the Emperor's throne. Mara didn't see the Emperor immediately. Instead, she only saw the Apprentice.

The Apprentice was a woman Mara's age. She was a tiny woman, only a meter and a half tall. She was a compacted ball of athleticism, though, and she walked across the floor from the throne. "Mara Jade," She had a haughty Coruscanti accent.

"Darth Sicari," She said, using the Apprentice's full title. "Where is our Master?"

"Along shortly. He has been upset since the Grand Inquisitor was killed."

"It was no great loss," Mara said, dismissing it. "The matter remains that four Jedi are now loose on the Galaxy."

"And I am to be dispatched to Toydaria, half a galaxy away from any Jedi." Sicari walked like she owned all of Imperial Center, right past Mara. "Don't think I won't be watching the transmissions and waiting for an excuse to join the hunt."

"I would expect nothing else, My Lady. I won't fail, though."

"Of course not. And Mara, I do hate us standing on ceremony. Let's drop the formalities."

Mara watched as a dark figure approached the light of the throne room. The Emperor's cloak concealed his figure, but she knew in every cell of her body that it was him. Her body hummed in just proximity to the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"As you wish, Leia," Mara whispered as she walked to the throne.

She stopped precisely five meters in front of the throne, and knelt. It was the typical posture for her. One knee, head almost touching the raised knee. She waited for the Emperor to reach the throne, and for his voice, a soft tone that carried the weight of the Galaxy.

"Rise."

She did so. Even underneath the dark heavy robes, she could still make out a greater part of his face.

Darth Vader was a man in his forties, with an angular, regal face. His yellow eyes were easy with contemplation, only partially attentive to his surroundings. He wore one glove on his right hand, a cybernetic implant that only Mara and a few were in knowledge of.

"My Lord Vader," Mara clasped her arms behind her back, waiting at ease, a leftover from her training at the Imperial Academy. One of her Master's many educational excursions for her.

"The Grand Inquisitor was killed by Prince Luke Organa, and his teacher, Ahsoka Tano. At first, I was complacent to let Tano work in secret on Alderaan. But our timetable has now been accelerated. We must hunt the Jedi. Organa is a resource we must utilize."

Then, there must have been something in the Force, that he had put into the next five words. "You will find Luke Organa. He is the shatterpoint of this nascent Rebellion. He somehow was able to convince Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma to supply him with a force. Both have gone into hiding, but as they choose, their planets must suffer. Chandrila and Corellia will be brought under the Empire's fist."

Vader stood. He was a tall man, and even in his middle age, moved like the general he had always been. "Imperial Intelligence, though, has provided us with a new opportunity."

As he spoke, a planet appeared from the floor, suspended in the holographic field of the throne room.

Mara recognized the planet immediately. "Fresia, home of the Incom Corporation."

"Very good." He smiled. "Incom was developing a new starfighter. The X-Wing, a space superiority fighter that is due to replace the TIE fighter in general. Some of the research team wishes to defect."

"Then we arrest all the traitors." Mara said.

"This Rebellion need to follow their first victory with another. Word has leaked to them. The designers wish to meet with the Rebellion and defect to their fledgling insurgency. You will head to Fresia, and confront any Rebels there."

"As you wish, my Lord." She paused a moment. Mara had a question, and she dared ask it. "Why me, and not Darth Sicari?"

"Because Luke Organa is more useful to me alive. Darth Sicari lives in the life of the Sith. She lives for conflict, and she would kill Organa before there was a chance for me to interrogate him." He paused a moment. "You have a subtle stroke, Mara, I need that."

Mara could sense her Lord's feelings, that there was something he wasn't sharing. But that was the way of the Sith, of master and servants. "I will bring you Organa." She said.

"Make it so." She said. "You will not receive a ship. Coordinate with Fresia's defense and Imperial Intelligence."

Those last two words sent a little shiver down Mara's spine. Isard. "Of course, my Lord."

"Thank you." Vader offered a rare smile. "And I appreciate you making an attempt to be civil with my daughter. Leia does need friends."

Mara offered her a little smile. "We're not exactly average teenage girls."

"No, but the effort is noted and appreciated. May the Force be with you, Mara."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

When she left the temple, the voice was still in her head.

 _You will find Luke Organa._


	14. Respite

The race away from Mustafar had left the crew of the _Firestorm_ with very little to do. The first few days of hyperspace had seen the entire crew, Luke, Winter, and Ahsoka included, repairing battle damage. While the carrier hadn't seen much action during the engagement, a few torpedoes from the _Dominion_ as it had joined the fray had left some wounds in the hull and engineering sections.

After that was done, though, Luke had retreated to his quarters. The ship and its formerly military nature had left the entire ship with a distinctly ascetic sense. The metal bulkheads that served as the walls for his quarters were devoid of any decoration, with the only furniture apart from the bunk being a small end table that held some of Luke's personal belongings that he had brought from the _Riptide_.

His door chime rang, and he walked to the cabin door. He opened it, to see Winter there. "Hey," Winter said, a little smile on her face. "I got something when I was searching the Holonet."

Luke furrowed his brow. "What's that?" He stepped back to let her into the small officer's quarters.

She held out a datacard, which she slipped into the terminal in his quarters. The screen flipped to an image of Queen Breha. Luke felt a tensing in his shoulders. "I found it on one of the private channels that I run in. I think she's got someone on staff to filter this to us."

Luke considered that a moment. "Play it, let's see what she was able to say."

She pressed a button,and Breha's face became animated as she started to speak. "Luke, Winter. It's been a few weeks in being able to just release this. The Empire has been restricting my access to the media, but a sympathetic Imperial officer was able to smuggle this for me to a slicer. The first thing I wish to assure you is that I am safe, and that word has reached us of what you have accomplished against the Empire even in our blockaded state.

"I'm proud of both of you, for doing what is right. You're doing what your father and I have taught you to do, and standing up for those who can't." Her face turned sorrowful. "We still don't have any news on Bail. I believe that the only reason the Empire keeps him alive is to see that I don't fight them harder." She took a breath. "Whatever you do, Luke, Winter, keep doing what you believe is right. I love you both, so much. Let Ahsoka protect you, and continue to be that wonderful children we raised you as." Tears were in the hologram's eyes. "May the Force be with you both."

The image cut, and Luke looked over to Winter. His usually stoic sister was looking down at the ground. "We shouldn't be here." She said. "We should be back there, liberating Alderaan."

"We barely survived rescuing a Jedi." He said, his voice soft. "We don't have the troops to fight an Imperial legion."

Winter sighed. "You're right." She looked over at him. "I did pick up some intelligence when working with Captain Serrin's team."

"What's that?"

"We discovered a Fresian group of engineers, doing starfighter engineering for the Empire. They want to defect."

"Defect?" Luke arched an eyebrow. "We can't be that popular already."

"Anti-Empire sentiment is high. Serrin and Mothma released holos of the Mustafar base's destruction. They're calling it, officially, the Alliance to Restore the Republic."

"Not very catchy." Luke remarked. "I liked it better when we were just rebels. So, these engineers, what do they want from us?"

"A rescue." Winter said. "I'm going to pitch to Serrin a rescue mission. I've looked over the intel that Ahsoka's spy network has. Fresia's not the production facility for the Incom corporation, just one of their research outposts. It won't be too heavily defended."

Luke caught on quick. "A team to infiltrate the station, preferably one with pilots to steal any ships."

"That's the idea," Winter nodded. "Think it's worth it?"

Luke leaned back against the bulkhead. After a moment's contemplation, he nodded. "Make sure to include a few recommendations for pilots."

Winter smiled. "Your name's second on the list after Antilles."

"Um, what?" Luke paused a moment.

"I actually want to place you in command, but I think that might be overstepping it. Listen, Ahsoka's of the opinion we need more leaders. We Organas are supposed to step up, right?"

"I hadn't considered it." He thought about it for a moment. "We'll bring it to Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis. We'll decide from there." He said. "We need to have a unified front on this."

Winter let a little smile cross her face. "I'll set up the holocomm then. Tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be there, at your back."

* * *

Luke had learned early in his life to never take dreams at face value. The Force moved in mysterious ways. As Ahsoka had explained it to him once when he was younger, the Force showed glimpses of the future and of the past, even if the former was mutable, ever-changing.

Luke had assumed at first that this was something from his past. He was at the riverside palace of House Girard, at what would have been one of many balls of the seasonal circuits. He couldn't place this particular one in his memories, though it must have been before he started going on diplomatic envoys with Ahsoka six months before Alderaan fell.

He wore a high-collared gold jacket and tunic, with boots and trousers that might have suggested a military cut. While it wasn't a particularly Alderaanian fashion, even the Organas hadn't entirely dismissed the martial leanings of fashion that had risen in recent years.

There were faces that passed him by, but none he could remember. He couldn't even remember any of their features. He stood at ceremony, watching the reeling dancers on the wood dance floor that had been erected outside, dancing in the faintly-lit summer evening by the river.

Then a voice he had heard once before spoke. "Your Highness, may I have this next dance?"

Mara Jade wore an outfit that might have belonged in the Imperial Navy, were it not for the lack of rank insignia, and its obvious quality of make. Her red hair was artfully braided, bringing her intense, classical features to the front.

"I haven't had the honor," Luke said, extending his hand, even if he knew the answer.

The Imperial agent bowed and kissed his hand, her warm lips just grazing his skin. "Mara Jade, Your Highness. May I have an answer, or do all royals like to keep a public servant waiting?"

Luke offered her his hand, this time with the palm up. Mara placed her hand in his, and they walked to the dance floor. The next song was a slow waltz, that Luke recognized as a number that had been in fashion in the Clone Wars. It had come back into fashion of late, in military dance halls.

The two danced closely together, moving with an ease that Luke appreciated. Luke chuckled softly. "You dance very well, Miss Jade. And this is coming from someone who has to dance at balls every other week."

Mara gave a little smile. She didn't have to look up at him, and their eyes burned into each others'. "Oh, you learn a few things at the Academy."

"You don't dance like a soldier." He said, keeping his voice low. "Soldiers only know how to lead."

"Even the women, Prince Charming?" She asked, a hint of mirth in her tone.

Luke allowed himself a chuckle. "Especially the women." He said. "Alderaan is a popular leave destination. Some of the officers from richer families do enjoy indulging themselves in the intricacies of a ball. And all the soldiers lead."

Mara then shifted her hands, and took the lead. Luke let her, feeling a thrill run through his spine. He knew that in the world outside, she chased him. Luke wondered what it would be like if she caught him. "You have excellent form as well. Only the best for Breha and Bail's?"

Luke snorted. "My sister is much more adept with a vibroblade than a dance floor."

That drew a smile from the agent. "I like your sister. It sounds like she has her priorities straight in life." Mara's hand on his waist slid lower. "And what about you, Prince Charming? What captures your mind beyond endless balls, politics, and the life of a junior Imperial diplomat?"

His face lit with a smile. "Flight."

* * *

Mara woke with a start. She gasped, desperate for air as she found herself back in her cabin on the _Jade Fang_. It was dark, and she found herself shivering, and not just from the cold depths of space. Whatever she had just experienced was no mere dream.

Mara moved out of bed, her feet touching cold deck plates. She activated the lights, bringing a dim illumination to the cabin. She exited, heading to the fore compartments and the cockpit. The ship's corridors were cold and dry, leaving Mara with a slight chill as she made her way to the cockpit.

Whatever it was about Organa, she knew that dream was nothing that simple. That was something they had shared, though she couldn't explain it. Something connected them through the Force, something Mara didn't understand. Not yet. But there was something she knew, that dawned on her, and she didn't realize why, at least not yet.

She couldn't tell the Emperor. Not until she had discovered the source of this unusual link. She would not be compromised. She'd drag it out of him, whether he liked it or not.


	15. Departures

The briefing was early in the morning, which had Luke drinking an extra-large mug of bad caf. He knew that the _Firestorm_ had been a few weeks without a supply run, just from the taste of the caf. He walked onto the bridge, where Winter was already setting up her presentation. He watched as the holographic images of Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis materialized. Luke looked out of the bridge viewport, seeing the white marble of the planet they were orbiting.

Ahsoka had a mug of caf that was resting on the holotable in front of her. She was wearing athletic clothes today, something Luke hadn't seen before. Luke idly wondered if they were owned by Commodore Serrin.

The Arkanian captain was waiting for Winter to start. In the meantime, she addressed the gathering. "Senators," She nodded. "Winter, working with the combined intelligence of our cells, has been able to piece together an intriguing process. At your leisure, Winter."

Winter started the briefing, clicking to the first still on her datapad. It was a holo of Fresia, its oceans and archipelagos shown in a rather good resolution for a holo. Score one for Imperial budgets. "Fresia, a corporate world that's primarily known for the Incom Corporation. Incom has been contracted by the Empire to produce a new space superiority fighter, a snubfighter that would be able to outperform the TIE Fighter at most levels. Called the T-65 project, it's a hyperspace-capable fighter that the Empire would use to phase out the TIE.

"However, as it turns out, the development team of the T-65 has started to harbor feelings of resentment to the Empire. They wish to defect. I've prepared a mission briefing, but the primary details are as such. Incom was nationalized last year by the Empire. As it's still in a transitory process, the system doesn't have a particularly large presence. A few airbases are the biggest concern. We have an Imperial shuttle, the _Aleph_ , in use that we can have approach the planet. Our security codes will get us on to the planet. We can make contact with the design team and extract them."

Mon Mothma considered this a moment. "The design team, do we know the leader?"

She nodded. "Doctor Voorhorian, one of their head engineers. He's the one who made the request. We've been able to narrow down that he's in the corporation's beta facility in one of the southern archipelagos."

Bel Iblis nodded. "Beyond extraction of the team, what other objectives do you have?"

"We'll make sure that the Empire doesn't have any surviving technical data of the starships, and I'd also like to request a number of pilots to commandeer any hyperspace-capable prototypes for the T-65s."

"You'll have them. Coordinate with Commodore Serrin for a team." Iblis said. "Pick the team, and find a mission commander."

"Yes, sir." Winter nodded. "I'd like to nominate Luke for the mission command."

Both Mothma and Iblis turned to look at Luke, who hadn't spoken so far during the briefing. "I'm qualified as a pilot." Luke noted. "Besides, we need to show the design team that the Rebellion is serious about rescuing them."

Mon Mothma seemed to pause for a moment. "Very well. Lady Tano, what about your recruiting effort?"

All eyes turned to Ahsoka. "I think I've found an excellent opportunity for someone to train our ground troops. He's a former Clone Wars officer, and a good man. Tracking him won't be easy, but I've got a few ideas."

Mon Mothma nodded. "We have other operations we wish to be initiating, but those can be discussed at a later time." The holograms disappeared, leaving them on the bridge.

Ahsoka shot Winter a wry grin. "Well, got your first mission approved. Go find a team for it."

Serrin offered her own suggestions. "The _Firestorm_ 's assault team would be a good choice for the ground team. And as for pilots, loath as I am to give them up, Antilles and Bandit group are all trained on Incom craft."

"I'll go see if they'll take the assignment." Winter collected her datapad, and started towards the door.

Luke touched her shoulder, causing her to look back. "Winter, you did well there." He said, keeping his voice soft.

"Thank you, Luke." Winter smiled, and departed the bridge.

Once she was gone, Luke turned back to the Commodore and Ahsoka. "So, who's this commander that you're trying to pick up?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "It's a long shot. But if we can get him, well, it'd be a good addition." She checked the bridge chrono. "We're taking the _Riptide_ soon. It'll be a few days, maybe a week."

"Before you go," Luke lowered his voice. "Can we talk in private?"

Ahsoka nodded, and gestured to the hatch that led from the bridge. The two of them walked over to the hatch and walked out into the corridor. Ahsoka offered him a little smile. "Walk with me," She said, and Luke followed her through the open corridors of the carrier.

"I had a dream last night."

Ahsoka looked him with a curious glance, the markings on her brow making it look like an eyebrow arching. "A dream?"

Luke sighed. "I…I dreamed of the Inquisitor who we met on our way back from Dac. Mara Jade."

Ahsoka paused, seeming to think about this for a moment. "What happened in the dream?"

"This sounds crazy, but…we danced. On Alderaan. I think…Ahsoka, I think that we shared that dream."

Ahsoka stopped in the hallway. "You shared the dream." She said, her voice very soft.

"I think so. Is that possible?"

"The Force has an infinite number of possibilities." She sighed. "The Jedi had very varied views of dreams. Obi-Wan thought that dreams simply passed. Other members of the Order believed that they were signs of the Force's will. I don't know which I believe. Luke, be careful on Fresia. Trust your instincts." She unclipped one of her lightsabers. "And may the Force be with you."

Luke accepted the lightsaber. "May the Force be with you, Ahsoka. Good luck finding this commander."

Ahsoka smiled like she had her own private joke. "He's an old friend, and he's a creature of habit. I'll bring him back."

The shuttle _Aleph_ was one of the newer _Lambda_ shuttles. The folding wing design seemed to be in vogue these days, Luke noted as they approached the white craft. Luke had dressed with the rest of the team in sand-colored fatigues, an Imperial uniform that saw use in the Imperial Army and Security Bureaus. It was a decent cover for infiltrating the Fresia base, and Winter assured Luke that the security codes would get them clearance to the facility. It was just a matter of locating the prototypes and securing the team.

Wedge sat in the copilot's seat of the shuttle as Luke filed into the cockpit. The team of Bandit squadron had already reached the crew compartment, leaving the two mission leaders to pilot the shuttle.

"How're we looking?" Luke asked as he took the controls.

"Like we're ready to steal a bunch of fighters from the Empire." Wedge said. "It's a good ship too. Much better than the _Lambda_ s we had at the Academy."

Luke checked his own readings at the pilot's console. "Well, here goes nothing." He murmured as he checked the flight computer. Fresia was already in the navicom, ready for a jump once they were clear of the ship.

Wedge held up his hand. "Wait a second, got a comm coming in." He punched the transmission. " _Aleph_ here."

"Wedge, it's Winter. Listen, I was able to scrounge up an astromech. We need something for last-minute slicing."

Wedge pondered a moment. "Have it come aboard." He said, and grinned. "Wish us good luck?"

Luke could almost hear the eye-rolling over the comm. "Keep Luke safe. Keep him from doing anything too stupid."

"No promises." Wedge said, and cut the comm.

The whistling and chirping of a droid as it climbed the boarding ramp filled the cabin. Luke looked back, and saw a chrome and blue droid. Luke gestured for the droid to enter the cockit. "Well, it's an energetic one. What do we call you?" The droid chirped with its answer. "R2-D2, huh? Alright, Artoo. Get settled in, we're going to be taking off soon."

As he started the pre-flight, the little astromech made a series of chirps and whistles. Luke couldn't help but smile. Something inside him made him feel like that, with the droid here, he was just a touch safer.


	16. Raiders

The hyperspace jump to Fresia wasn't too memorable. Luke and Wedge took time at the controls, taking time back in the crew compartment with the rest of the team. Luke had spent some of the time meditating in one of the uncomfortable passenger seats, trying to reflect back to the duel on Mustafar.

Whatever had turned on him, what he had felt as they escaped the station, had stuck with him since. He remembered the heated ire of whatever in the Force he had caught the attention of. It was the one thing he hadn't told Ahsoka about. The presence was so powerful, so hateful that Luke could only piece together one conclusion from his reflection.

Something he had done had been a beacon to the Emperor in the Force. Something in him knew it was so. But what was it? Had the Emperor felt the Inquisitor's death in the Force, and turned his gaze on Luke?

Until Luke was sure, he would keep it to himself. For now, they had a mission to complete.

Artoo's whistling signaled Luke that they were due to drop out of hyperspace. Luke hurried up to the cockpit, taking his place in the pilot's chair. He checked the readings as the astromech brought them out of lightspeed into realspace.

Fresia was a world of islands and archipelagos, humid and mild everywhere except the polar caps. It was a blue world with an innumerable amount of green and brown specks all over it. The planet had a number of orbital stations. Some were defense platforms for common approach vectors, and others were hangars for Incom's various testbeds.

As they approached a standard orbital approach, they were received by two old ARC-170 Starfighters. Luke noticed that they didn't have any of the black, blue, and gray markings of the Imperial navy, but instead the red-gold trim of the corporation.

He thumbed the comm panel. "Fresian fighter, this is shuttle _Aleph_ , carrying Commander Antilles and Lieutenant Darklighter for an inspection of the new fighter project." Luke said, using the cover identities that had been crafted for them. Antilles was a particularly common surname throughout the Galaxy, but Organa was much more suspicious. So they'd picked a bland-enough Outer Rim name, and Luke could affect a decent enough Imperial military accent.

One of the pilots waggled his wings. "Copy that, _Aleph_. Follow us on a descent vector." Luke smiled and cut the commline as he started the shuttle on the course the snubfighters had set.

Luke smiled over at Wedge. "I think that went pretty well." He remarked.

"Don't get cocky, Lieutenant Darklighter." Wedge laughed. "So, what's the plan for extraction?"

"Design team takes the shuttle. We stuff as many pilots as we can into their new fighters that we can steal, blow the rest, and blast our way off the planet."

Wedge smiled in a winner's grin. "I like it. Simple. Destructive. Who flies the shuttle back?"

"Piggy. He's the best astrogater that we've got on the team, and we're going to need everyone we can getting out of here."

They landed on one of the corporate landing pads, where there was already a small delegation waiting for them. He walked to the crew compartment, then pressed the button for the hatch. "Hang back here until we give the signal," Luke said, and he and Wedge walked out onto the landing pad.

Doctor Vohoorian wasn't a particularly impressive man. A human male in his fifties, he had a slim build that seemed to make him appear shorter than he actually was. He was flanked by two other scientists, a Sullustan woman and a dour Devaronian man.

"Doctor," Luke put on his most genial smile. "Lieutenant Darklighter. My associate, Commander Antilles. We're here to take a look at your work." He hoped that he wasn't looking too much like an Imperial at this point. He wanted to make sure he could get the Doctor at ease enough to get them talking privately.

"Lieutenant, ah, we have been expecting you." Vohoorian inclined his head towards Luke. "We've been making preparations for your arrival."

"Shall we adjourn to our hangar, where we can show you the new fighter?"

Luke smiled. "I believe that would be satisfactory."

They started through the facility. Unlike Imperial stations Luke had visited, it had a number of open windows to give sights of the bay that the Incom facility was situated in. As they walked, Luke shared a momentary glance with Wedge. All was looking to be going as Winter had planned.

"We may speak openly, Your Highness." Vohoorian said after a moment. "We have disabled the surveillance for your visit. We are ready to launch our evacuation at a moment's notice."

"Then tell me about what our obstacles will be, Doctor." Luke said. "How many Imperial loyalists on staff?"

"Only one or two. They have been isolated out of the regular work flow the past few weeks. The real problem will be the Imperial security troops. As this is an Imperial project in name, the hangar has a number of ISB troopers on watch at all times."

Luke considered that a moment. "My strike team can handle a few troopers, if we can get the drop. They're mostly the pilots we could scrounge up. How many prototypes do you have for the T-65?"

"Six." Vohoorian looked over to Luke. "This is our finest work since the ARC-170. The X-Wing is the finest balance between speed, durability, and firepower. After Rath Sienar took every contract the Empire put on the market, I wanted to create the finest thing I could to put Incom back on the map."

Wedge spoke up. "How'd you come up with X-Wing?" He asked.

"When you see one in flight, it's easy enough to spot how we came up with the nickname." Vohoorian explained. "The X-Wing, on a pilot to pilot match, can match a group of 4 TIEs in single combat."

That drew a snort from both Wedge and Luke. "That's overselling it. How did you manage that?"

Vohoorian led them to a turbolift, and his aides departed. Luke presumed it was to gather the rest of the team for the evac. "The Clone Wars are over. With the Empire's ban on combat droid research, droid pilots aren't a problem outside of Hutt space. When we had clone pilots, we have them the fastest craft we could, light interceptors with standard Republic pilots taking the helm at bombers. But we no longer have to have perfect precision. We could create a rugged, durable fighter that wouldn't even need a carrier. The T-65 is hyperdrive-capable, not even needing a hyperspace ring to travel."

"How do you manage that?" Luke asked. "Especially on a fighter."

"The T-65 requires a partner astromech to fully operate." Vohoorian explained as the lift descended. After a minute or so, they came into the hangar bay of the Incom facility. It opened out onto the ocean, where Luke could see the sun hitting the sapphire-blue water. Luke started for formulate his plan further, only momentarily distracted when he saw the fighters.

The X-Wing obviously held inspiration from its ARC and Headhunter forebears. It was presently painted in an off-white color, with black and red markings. It had four engines, each one extending into a wing with a laser cannon on the end.

Wedge said it better than Luke. "Now that is one hell of a war bird." The three of them walked towards the fighter closest to them. He spotted a few troopers on duty, situated against the further wall, looking rather bored with their duty.

"So, I think I've got a plan." Luke said. "Doctor, what anti-theft do you have for the hangar?"

"Beyond the troopers? A navigational deflector, and several tractor beam generators that we use to catch any ships that might have a rough landing."

Luke nodded. "Anything to stop a ship from entering the hangar?"

Wedge took a moment, then smiled. "I like where this is going."

Mara Jade had spent the last few days in wait for Organa. It was a long process, where Mara had to work with Imperial Intelligence to create a response team. She had created a group of fighters from the best-trained Imperial loyalists on the planet, who had a specific mission, to bring down any rescue attempt and retrieve any Rebels.

So far, it was twenty pilots. It was a mix of craft too, which Mara was even less thrilled about. Eight pilots were flying the ARC-170 fighter, and another eight were flying Z-95s. The remaining four, the best that Mara had found, had been given the new TIE X/1 model, which was blandly being called the Advanced. Mara was flying her own Advanced, which she had modified to her heart's desire. She wouldn't allow any standard TIEs on this. She needed ordnance. Specifically, she needed ion torpedoes and missiles to disable any ships that tried to break atmosphere.

She sat in the cockpit of her TIE, fastidiously checking her pre-flight again and again. It wasn't often she flew, even if she was a good pilot. Mara preferred to face her opponent. The recoil of the blaster or the hum of her saber gave the close intimacy of personal combat she preferred.

Then one of the ISB agents at Fresia tripped the alarm. "All flights," Mara said as she pulled on her helmed. "Burn up your engines. You know the drill. Report in." She punched the TIE's engines, the scream of the ion thrust filling her head even if she knew she couldn't actually hear them.

The ARCs, Headhunters, and TIEs all reported in. "Black Group, deploy the sensor net in high orbit. We want to know the exact exit vector of the fighters."

Mara grinned as she started to fly her own pattern, waiting. Soon, she would have Organa in her grasp.

The _Aleph_ came into the hangar bay like a white demon, barging in. Luke and Wedge had taken cover behind a stack of crates, taking cover from the heavy laser cannons at the shuttle's fore. It was just a distraction, he knew, but it was a good one. Luke saw the shuttle switch to repulsor lifts, and its ramp opened to disgorge the pilots. Five troopers, two of them hanging back to cover Artoo as the little droid descended the ramp, hurrying towards Luke at the other end of the hangar.

Wedge and Luke rose up, shooting at the ISB troopers to provide covering fire for their fellow pilots. "Artoo!" Luke shouted. "Come on, over here!"

The little blue droid whistled an affirmative, and wheeled over.

The ISB troopers had erected a hasty barricade, including setting up a portable E-Web gun. While the shuttle could block the bolts from it, the troopers knew what they were doing.

Luke, Wedge, and the rest of the strike team were effectively pinned. Luke hissed as he thumbed his comm. "Red Group, we need to take out that gun. If we don't, this is going to be a real short heist!"

Silda replied back. "Organa, we can draw their fire. Can you circle around?"

"Copy that. Wedge and I can do that." Luke said, and looked over to Wedge. The two of them nodded, and waited for the astromech to draw closer. Once Artoo was safe behind the crates, Luke smiled and patted the droid. "All right there, Artoo?"

Artoo gave a reply in binary that made Luke wonder where he had learned that language. The little droid opened up a socket, though, presenting Luke with the lightsaber he had stowed there.

"Alright, Hapes, go for it." He said into his comms.

The five commando pilots all opened up, their blasters on full auto. A hail of red bolts showered on the ISB position, drawing the attention of the E-Web blaster cannon. Luke and Wedge moved ahead, to the edge of the crates. Wedge opened up, peppering the position as Luke activated his lightsaber.

"JEDI!" One of the troopers screamed as the white blade ignited with the familiar _snap-hiss_. Luke summoned his strength through the Force, and started to rush the emplacement, his speed making everything else slow down around him.

Two of the troopers swung their blasters on him, starting to pepper him with fire. Luke brought his blade up into a guarding position, only blocking where he would be, not where he was. It turned out to be an effective tactic, and he summoned his strength for an acrobatic leap over the barricade.

He jumped, and brought his saber down on the E-Web's barrel. The end of the barrel fell off, an orange heat still on it. The gunner received a quick thrust, and the troopers quickly fell to the blaster fire of Silda's team as they fell into disarray.

The hangar was secure, at least for the moment. "Artoo, slice into the hangar's security system. Deactivate the deflectors and the tractor beams, or this is going to be an awful escape."

The astromech chiped an affirmative, and found a terminal socket to get to work in.

Luke rejoined Wedge and the team, deactivating his saber. "For a Prince, that was some nice work," Silda remarked. "So, what's the plan?"

The research team had started to board the shuttle. Vohoorian's tea had wiped all technical data from the facility's computers. So long as they escaped, the project files for the X-Wing would be entirely in Rebel hands.

"Six pilots for six fighters. We use the hangar astros for navigational aide. Three pairs of wingmates, we punch a hole and make a jump out of system. We just clear the gravity well, and we should be fine." Luke considered this a moment. "And I want Wedge to lead the squadron." Before the Corellian could object, he said. "I'm not the best pilot here. I'll follow your lead."

"Alright, then, Red Two." Wedge smiled. "Let's run pre-flight on these fighters.

The next fifteen minutes was a blur of activity, with the pilots prepping the fighters for takeoff as Artoo finished up deactivating the hangar defenses. Luke kept his cool, running through every possible system on his own. The only thing that the fighter lacked at the moment was a complement of proton torpedoes. Everything else was green across the board. The last thing they did was load Artoo up into the astromech emplacement on the fighter.

"Ever done this before?" Luke asked the droid, looking down at the screens.

 _MANY TIMES._ The astromech's readout said.

"Well, that's one of us." Luke pulled on his helmet and brought up the HUD on his screens. It displayed a readout of all the ship systems. Cannons charge, deflectors up. He switched over to the squadron comm. "Red Two, ready for launch."

"Red Leader checking in." Wedge paused for a moment. "After Bandit Squadron, Red Group doesn't click. I'll take suggestions for new names once we're all sipping on appropriately potent drinks."

"Copy that, Lead. Red 3, all systems go. _Aleph_ , what's your status?"

Piggy's tinny voice came back over the comm. "Ready to depart."

The shuttle launched first, then each fighter launched, screaming ahead of the shuttle. Luke was the next to last, with Wedge bringing up the lead. It was only a minute or two of flight over the oceans before Luke's screens lit up.

"I've got incoming. Eight ARC-170 fighters."

Luke saw them, their s-foils locked to protrude from their single wings in an archaic version of the ship Luke was flying. Wedge's voice filled his ear. "Let's see what these can do. Lock s-foils in attack position. We'll have the edge in maneuverability, but be careful. Those old birds can take a beating.

The group acknowledge, and Luke hit the thrusters. All six X-Wings of Red Group formed up in a spear point formation, Wedge and Luke taking the tip.

Artoo made his own excited chirps, which Luke recognized as missile locks. "Red group, they're locking on to us. Artoo, can you spoof their missiles?" An affirmative chirp brought a grin to his face. "Excellent."

Wedge picked up on it quickly. " _Aleph_ , start jamming their missiles. Make it so they've got to dumb-fire them. We want a straight up light-fight here."

"Copy, Red Leader." Piggy said. "Starting jamming procedures."

Luke watched as the distance counter continuing rolling less and less. Luke took all safeties off, set his deflector shields to full fore, and watched as the first blue streak of an ion torpedo shot towards him.

Luke broke hard right, dodging the streak and rolling the ship, trusting his instincts. The ARC's twin laser cannons chased after him, but Luke knew he was out of range. He climbed for a half-second, then brought his ship to bear, angling down at the ARC.

It was slow to react, and Luke took full advantage. He thumbed his lasers to quad-fire, and brought it down on the top shields of the ARC. Four scarlet bursts of laser fire crashed into the older fighter, and one of its engines caught fire. Wedge's craft caught one on the first pass, and he saw two more ion torpedoes miss on the water.

"Let's mop this up quick, Reds. We can't stay here long. Every minute that passes, the Empire gets closer.

Luke acquired a new target, one of the Arcs that was chasing after Red Four. He used the X-Wing's superior speed, barreling down in a quick strike. He let another volley loose, this one catching on one of the ARC's wings, scorching it but not enough for the kill.

The engagement was quick, over in a few passes. The X-Wing was fast, responsive, and even in atmosphere, handled like a dream. Luke had taken a few hits on the deflectors, but nothing had passed. The older fighters couldn't pack the punch. But they had done their job, delaying them enough before they could start to climb out of the atmosphere.

The fight in the atmosphere was much worse. Luke counted a dozen fighters, all newer Headhunters and newer TIE models. He formed up on one side of the shuttle, taking a defensive posture. "What's the plan, Lead?"

Wedge responded immediately. "We only have to break the gravity well to make a microjump. If your ship gets damaged, jump out as soon as you can. We're going to run straight through them. _Aleph_ 's cannons will clear the way, and we can take apart any stragglers. Stay close to the shuttle, and keep on this vector."

Luke pushed the throttle up, checking his shields. They had mostly recharged to full, and angled forward. He watched as the spearhead of the fighters, the TIEs, started to unleash their fire. Green bolts of lasers lanced forward, and Luke responded with his own hail of red. Some of the bolts landed on his shields, but most passed by or were taken by the shuttle.

Piggy returned in kind, scoring one of the Headhunters with a well-placed shot, the heavier cannons on the shuttle taking down the fighter in one volley.

Luke locked on to one fighter, closing on the TIE as it tried to make a run at the shuttle. Then, at the last moment, it spun on Luke, and only a stab of danger sense had him trying to juke away. The TIE battered his shields, and he watched as the shields flared with the impact of laser fire. He tried rolling from the fire, angling his deflectors back. "I've picked one up. Requesting support."

Then, a female voice cut in over his comms. "Oh, come now, Prince, don't take away from the fun."

Luke immediately knew who it was. The Inquisitor. Jade. His shields continued to take a hammering. Luke hissed as Artoo let out a howl of indignant rage.

Luke let himself trust his senses, and then steeled himself. He flipped his thrusters off, leaving only maneuvering as he spun the X-Wing around. He felt the pressure of the inertia slam against his entire body, like a freighter was sitting on him. Once Artoo signaled the Koirogan turn was at its completion. He kicked the engines back in, firing blindly ahead of him.

The Inquisitor might have been good, but Luke didn't care. The TIE's shields collapsed under the pounding volleys of his cannons, and one of the solar panels took a hit. Mara veered off, and Luke moved to pursue.

"Luke, don't stray too far!" Wedge warned. Luke checked his sensors quickly. Two X-Wings had already jumped out, disengaging before they could take more hits. One of the ion torpedoes had winged the shuttle, slowing it down significantly. Two of the Headhunters were picking on it. Luke hissed, and he brought his fighter back to bear.

He switched his engine power to cannons, needing more power to recharge. He needed to make the run count. He saw Wedge moving in from the other side, both of them blazing a path for the shuttle to move through. Two TIEs who had been coming in on that vector veered away, giving Piggy enough time to start prepping the jump.

Silda had to jump out next, followed by Red Four, but by the time Piggy jumped out, only Mara's TIE and three of the Headhunters remained.

"Artoo, prepare jump course Besh. We'll take a quick jump before our rendezvous with the fleet." The astromech started to calculate the jump, and as the calculations started, Luke saw Mara bearing down on him. He increased his speed, diverting power from his cannons to shields and engines. He didn't need to beat her, just run away faster.

"Leaving so soon?" Mara taunted. She settled behind him, peppering his rear shields.

"As much as I'd love to stay…" Luke grunted as he tried to juke, keeping his ship moving. Then the missile tone lock started flashing on his HUD. Without the _Aleph_ to act as support, Artoo couldn't scramble the targeting well enough.

Mara's blasts continued to rock the ship through its shields. "Come on, Prince Organa. I want at least one more dance."

Luke pushed on his stick, sending the craft into a dive, trying to break the lock. "This wasn't enough? My, Coruscanti women, never know how to take it slow."

Even as he dove, he could see the Advanced gaining on him. He watched as Artoo's calculations continued. He was going to get torn to shreds before he could jump. The ringing on his helmet changed. Mara's missile was in the water. Luke changed his course abruptly, but then he saw that Mara had already anticipated it. Another missile, this one fired without a lock, slammed into him, passing right through his shields. However, there wasn't any explosion.

Luke wasn't dead. That was a positive. "Artoo, was that a dud?" He couldn't believe his luck. The second missile's ion pulse didn't seem to have activated. "Are we locked in?"

Artoo whistled an affirmative. Luke hit the hyperdrive ignition, launching the quick jump that would take them to one of the closer systems. He felt a cool wash of relief hit him as he sank into the pilot's couch, swallowed up by hyperspace and the lucky escape.


	17. Dagger in the Night

The name Nal Hutta meant "Glorious Jewel" in the Hutt tongue. Looking up at it from her vantage point on the Smuggler's moon, it was a common thought the name was undeserving. A toxic mire of bogs that the slugs had terraformed to suit their needs was no jewel. The Hutts, in fact, had left their own homeworld uninhabitable, taken another's world, and changed it until it suited their needs.

Leia thought that was a wonderful summary of the Hutts in general. They were galactic parasites, taking and corrupting what was never theirs. As she looked down onto the brightly-lit city that lay before her, she steeled herself for the task at hand.

One of the ARC troopers behind her, a clone named Steel, spoke up through the mission comm they all shared. "My Lady, recon reports that target is moving in. Heavy escort."

Leia nodded as she checked her own hear. The camo bodysuit she wore had a thick utility belt on it, one that had the various tricks of her trade. It was secure, and she knew that she had everything she needed.

"Fireteam Aurek, get into position across from the palace for fire support. Besh, get into abseil positions." They had already picked out spots on the mission planning. "I'm going to go knock."

"Yes, Lady Sicari." Steel's troops didn't need any further orders from him. It was why Leia liked clones. They did their jobs, and instinctively knew how to do it. Droids had the same effect on her, she found.

As the team started to disperse, Leia moved to the aircar that she had sequestered on the rooftop. She got into the driver's seat, turned on the repulsors, and started to track around the mission zone.

While the Empire was nominally at war with the Hutt Cartels, the truth was in fact more complex. In the Aftermath of the Clone Wars, her father had been forced to make a decision. Consolidation of the New Order, or to stamp out every Confederate holdout. The Empire had taken priority, and many of the Federation had fled to Hutt space. The Hutts were able to use their extensive financial network to keep a steady supply of mercenaries paid, as well as augmenting their troops with state of the art equipment.

That required a lot of credits to keep flowing. While Leia was not particularly interested in politics, she knew that it wasn't just the Hutts who were in this fight. The major powers of the Confederacy were still active, and tonight one of the heads of the Banking Clan, Pors Hill, was there to go over the books with the Hutts.

Hill was a lynchpin. Her father had seen it. He was a shatterpoint in the Force. Leia knew that the ARC team would have been able to do this mission on their own. They were capable, the best troops in the Empire. But Leia found managing the campaign with Admiral Tagge tiring, and she preferred to be on the front lines. Her father had raised a warrior, not a quartermaster.

She parked the aircar on the ledge outside the main segment of the palace. One of the guards raised his rifle. "This is restricted property, lady. Get back in the speeder or-"

Leia didn't have time for this. With one flick of her wrist, of her anger lashing out, she crushed the windpipe of the first guard. The second, she lifted like he was a child's plaything, smashing him against the door of the entrance. Once, twice, three times. Leia did say she would knock.

She keyed open the door from the control panel, and she tapped her earpiece. "Vibroblade is in." She said, and she detached her lightsaber from her belt. "Besh, start your ascent. Aurek, hold fire until my command."

"Yes, ma'am." Steel confirmed, and Leia walked into the entry hall of the palace.

The alarm had been raised, but Leia wasn't going to wait very long. A number of mercenaries were filing in, aiming down their sights at the Lady of the Sith. Leia took stock of the situation. A dozen troops, all armed with blaster rifles, two Gammorreans armed with vibro axes. They had fanned out in a semi-circle around her, preventing her from progressing further.

Her lightsaber sizzled to life with a violent hiss, an angry red blade. Then the blasters came to life. Automatic fire poured from all directions, and Leia went to work.

She leaped from her position, jumping up in a high arc, deflecting the few bolts that tracked her movements. She landed at the edge of the arc of troops, grabbing the closest trooper and using him as a shield. Blaster bolts sizzled into his body as she made her next maneuver.

She let her anger fuel her power, and dashed to the next troop. He fell with a quick slash of her saber, then shoved her hand forth. His body slammed into the trooper behind her. Three down, eleven to go. Each movement of Leia's progress was a strike, each strike leading to another step until she had cut down half their numbers.

The two Gamorreans barreled towards her, raising their axes, the faint hum of the energy fields surrounding the blades filling her. She waited for the first one to strike, dropping back with one leg, and making a strong upper thrust with her saber. The guard squealed, and she waited for the second to try its rudimentary chop. She hissed, as he let it fall just long enough for her to catch the hilt of the axe.

The Gamorrean's eyes bugged for a moment as Leia hissed, her rage fueling her strength. She stabbed the Gamorrean, and tossed his body to the side. Five troopers remained, and Leia simply hissed. "You're not worth my time. Drop your blasters."

They did. Leia let herself smile. While she enjoyed combat, this wasn't particularly difficult. She deactivated her lightsaber, and rushed through the palace. She knew the path to the throne room easily enough. It was a large, open arena, where the Hutts would attend to guests.

It was also the most heavily-guarded. By the time she entered, she saw that the majority of the security forces had already gathered there. There were close to fifty troops, of various races. She spotted two heavy blaster emplacements. While she trusted her powers, she knew there could be more efficient options.

One of the Hutts spoke in its ugly tongue. "The Empire sends an assassin into our midst. You dare strike on a Hutt palace, my palace?"

Leia offered a smile as she surveyed the room. Pors Hill was on the dais the hutts sat on, on the edge of the circular throne room. Two guards stood in front of the tall Muun. "I am Darth Sicari." She said. "Servant to the Emperor." She hoped that Besh was getting into position.

"Sicari," The Hutt laughed. "You intrude on the palace of Arlax. I will hang your body for all of Nar Shadaa to see. Bounty hunters!"

Two figures separated themselves from the pack. One was a Wookie with black fur, while the other was a droid. It held a blaster rifle in each hand, focused on the Sith. Leia recognized both of them. The Wookie was Black Krrsantan, the droid C-21 Highsinger. Both were very good bounty hunters, though Leia knew neither of them was a match for her.

"Yes, my lord?" Highsinger asked, its droid-speech a warbling roll.

"Kill her!"

The two bounty hunters, Highsinger with its twin blasters and Krrsantan his bowcaster, started firing. Leia activated her lightsaber, bringing the crimson blade to deflect the bolts as they rained in. Highsinger's blasters poured in a steady stream of fire, forcing Leia to continually shift her blocks.

Krrsantan's bowcaster hit the floor near her, sending pieces of rubble flying up. She reacted quickly, raising one hand to pull on the rubble that had shaken loose from the floor. Her hand flung forward, sending the metal chunks flying ahead. Krrsantan and Highsinger dodged out of the way, the droid's perfect reflexes in action.

She took advantage of the chaos, going for Krrsantan. The Wookie drew a sword that might have been as tall as Leia. She grinned. "Let's play then, furball." She brought her blade around in a wide swing, and the large alien brought his blade down.

Krrsantan roared something in his tongue that Leia couldn't understand. He went on the offensive, moving with greater speed than Leia would have suspected. She brought her saber down to deflect the heavy sword. The Wookie's massive strength made her falter for a moment, before she reached onto her belt. She grabbed her punch dagger and slammed it into the Wookie's belly.

The furry alien let out a pained roar. It made a swing with one big clawed arm, and Leia took advantage of its desperate strike. She lopped off the Wookie's arm, cutting it off at the elbow. The next strike decapitated the creature, finishing it just as quickly.

She didn't let herself linger on Black Krrsantan. Highsinger started to pour blaster fire in her direction. Leia instead responded with her hate, shaped into the form of lightning. It crackled across the room, blasting the droid and making its servos explode. She hissed in grim satisfaction as she watched the droid start to seize.

She tapped her comm link. "Aurek, you may now open fire. Besh, storm the palace."

Blaster fire started to rain in as Aurek Team's emplaced weapons ripped through the walls of the palace. Besh's explosives sounded from further in the facilities.

Leia knew the fun was just starting. She turned her lightsaber on the Hutts and Pors Hill. First, the mission.


	18. Crash Landing

Luke woke up with a massive headache, and Artoo's warbles of worry. Luke looked at the screen of his X-Wing's cockpit, where he looked at the readings that the astromech had given him.

After they had made their first jump, Luke had discovered the tracer that was on the hull. Luke had dove for the closest planet and done an emergency landing. The damage from the battle had messed up something with the flight controls, and the whipping winds of the planet had slammed his head against the control console.

Luke removed his helmet, checking for any bleeding. He didn't feel any blood, but he figured he had at least a minor concussion. After a few long moments of observation, he looked out of the canopy of the fighter.

Artoo had set the ship down in a clearing surrounding a pyramid. Luke popped open the cockpit, stepped out of the fighter. "Stay here," Luke said. "I'm going to find our tracer."

Luke did a visual inspection of the ship, and found the tracking beacon on one of the s-foils of the craft. He went back to the cockpit and found the little toolkit that was stashed under the control console. He found the plasma cutter, and started to work on the beacon.

It took him about ten minutes of cutting to get through the body of the beacon. It was designed to be sturdy, that was for sure. The beacon had compromised some of the integrity on the wing it had been on, so Luke had to leave some of the beacon in. He checked with a scanner to make sure that it wasn't still transmitting, but it looked to have been cut off.

"Quick thinking, Prince Charming."

Luke spun around, drawing his lightsaber from his belt quickly. Mara Jade was standing about fifteen meters away from him, dressed in a pilot's suit. It had the cut of an Imperial uniform, but in a non-standard olive green color. She held her own lightsaber, still unignited but definitely threatening.

"Miss Jade, I assume I have you to thank for the thread tracer in my new fighter?" Luke brought his saber to life, its silver blade crackling to life.

"You mean the Empire's new fighter." Mara let her own blade ignite, the _snap-hiss_ filling the air. Their sabers were the only ambient noise around them, the jungle around the clearing painfully quiet. She leveled the blue lightsaber at Luke. "The Emperor has need of you."

"Then he can come get me." Luke hissed. He walked to the front of his X-Wing, keeping himself between Mara and the ship.

The two circled for a moment, and Mara took a step forward, moving them closer. Their blades flashed out, exploring their reaches. Mara's style was quick, efficient, but Luke's defensive posture easily redirected any strikes.

"That isn't your lightsaber," Mara said as she moved with a dancer's grace, circling around him. "It belongs to Lady Tano, does it not?"

Luke held his saber in a defensive stance. "What of it?"

Mara smiled, and she struck out, this time faster than Luke had anticipated. He was able to catch her blade, but it was almost too late. "The Emperor is wise. He could truly train you. Answer every question you had about the Force."

Luke felt his own anger start to grow. He lashed out, making a strike at Mara's center. She deflected the blade easily, but Luke persevered. "He arrested my father, imprisoned my mother in her own home!"

Mara dodged his next strike, and extended her free hand, using the Force to push at him hard. He had to fight to keep himself grounded, but it was enough for her to make a sweeping overhead strike. Luke fell to one knee to block it, but the strength of it forced him to put his free hand on the ground to steady.

"Haven't you ever wanted to know about your birth parents? About Anakin Skywalker, and the woman who betrayed him?"

Luke made a wordless noise of rage, knowing he was pinned down. He shoved his hand on the ground forward, summoning every measure of strength he could. He pushed his own hand forward, pushing back, and springing backwards, giving him much-needed space.

"Yes," Mara stalked him, eyes focused. "Give in to your rage, Luke." She whispered. "For all that composure, the wit, the diplomacy, there's so much anger in you. Give in-" Her words were cut short by the sounds of engines roaring. Both Luke and Mara looked upwards, and six Y-Wing fighters flew overhead, repulsors allowing them to quickly swerve to face the clearing, aiming their guns at the two of them. "What?!"

"I called for backup." Luke grinned.

Mara hissed, and she struck quickly. She lunged at Luke with an unnatural speed. Her blade flashed in a quick series of strikes, but this time Luke was ready.

His feet were planted, his blade seemingly everywhere at once. He gave himself in to the Force, forcing himself to be above his rage, to be in complete control.

Then Mara made her mistake. She overextended, lunging. Luke sidestepped her, and he spun around. His saber caught her in the back, slicing at one of her shoulders.

Mara went down, clutching at her side, and Luke didn't wait for a moment. He drew his blaster, and stunned her. Mara's body fell to the ground. Luke immediately grabbed her lightsaber from her limp form, deactivating it and clipping it to his belt.

His commlink rang, and he picked it up. "This is Organa. You the rebels that got my transmission?"

A man's voice came from the other end. "Lieutenant Tarth. The Flying Bantha's have got your back. We've got a shuttle inbound for your pick up. What happened here?"

"It's a long story, but we've got a high-value prisoner that needs transport back to the rendezvous point. Can you give us that?"

"Sure thing, Your Highness. The _Mynock_ will be in route to pick up you and the prisoner. What about your fighter?"

"It'll fly." He looked back to his X-Wing, then towards Mara. "I'll brief you on how to handle the prisoner when the shuttle lands."

As Luke watched the Y-Wings start to descend, Luke wondered just what Mara meant. She knew who Anakin Skywalker was, and she knew who his mother was. Luke had tried to keep the thoughts of his birth parents from his mind, always focusing on the present, but now, he needed to know.

Ahsoka had explanations for when he returned.


	19. Interrogation

The flight back to the Rebel fleet wasn't eventful. Luke and the Flying Banthas secured Mara in the cargo hold of the _Mynock_ , a shuttle that had been turned into an electronic warfare and support ship. Artoo was able to program a new vector back to the Rebel fleet, and once they were free of the planet's gravwell, they made the jump back.

It took eighteen hours of travel before they reached the fleet. Luke was able to pull out the small medkit in the fighter, checking his vitals. He had Artoo keep him awake, not wanting to chance falling asleep before he got back to the _Firestorm_.

When they exited hyperspace, the Rebel fleet looked even more numerous than before. The Fleet now had the _Firestorm_ , the three Corellian corvettes, a Dreadnaught that was Garm Bel Iblis's flagship, two Nebulon frigates, and one Alderaanian _Thranta_ -class war ship. There were also a number of freighters and courier ships that flittered around the fleet.

"Artoo," Luke said as he checked the scopes. "Give me the name of the _Thranta_."

Artoo chimed merrily, replying with text _CRUISER NAME VALIANT._

Luke went through his head. The Alderaanian defense forces didn't have a cruiser of that name. "Ackbar." He whispered. Even if the deal had never been solidified, he had given them the ships they wanted. Brilliant.

He approached the fleet, and went through the usual channels of docking the ship. The Banthas also got clearance to land on the _Firestorm_. "Be advised, _Firestorm_ ," Luke added. "We have a prisoner who needs to be secured in the brig. Highly dangerous."

"Copy, Your Highness." The comms officer said. Luke knew what his priorities were.

The first of those, unfortunately, was medbay. 2-1B, a medical droid with an almost excessively patient personality matrix, diagnosed Luke with a few cracked ribs and some light bruising. Luke took the bacta plunge, and woke up about ten hours later. By then, the Banthas had moved to depart.

Commodore Serrin came to visit him in medbay as he was changing back into duty clothes, a set of tan fatigues. The Commodore now had a rank badge on her jumpsui. "Prince Organa, I suppose we've both been busy."

"How do the X-Wings look?" Luke asked.

"Antilles is more than happy with them. The design team has given us the schematics that will allow us to manufacture the X-Wing. While we won't be able to make them by the dozen, we now do have a facility we can manufacture them at."

That got Luke's attention. "Really?"

"It seems that in the chaos of the Empire's rise, a number of assets were seized by private hands as the Confederacy was in its death throes. One of them was a moon base that we're calling the Nest. The moon itself isn't particularly large, but it'll serve as a useful base until we can find something else."

"Does the Empire know it exists?"

She shook her head. "I don't think they do. Considering that the Nest also hosted a _Providence_ -class battleship, if the Empire had known it existed, it would have been vaporized long ago."

Luke's eyes widened. One of the old Seppie cruisers was an even better find. "No battle droids yet?"

"They were long-deactivated. We did find a number of repair units on board, though. It'll help us cut down on crew." She paused. "Now that you're here, we're enroute to the Nest. From there, Mon Mothma and Iblis want to have a conference to lay down some form of government." At that, she sniffed rudely. "As if we can't just go on being pirates."

"It's rough, I know, Commodore," Luke deadpanned. "As for the prisoner…"

"Secure in the brig. Who is she? She was furious when the sedatives wore off."

"Mara Jade. She's an agent of the Emperor." Luke sighed. "She's awake, then." He finished buttoning his jacket, then asked. "Has Ahsoka returned yet?"

"No, she's still out on her mission. We've been receiving transmissions, but they've been shaky at best."

Luke sighed. He wished that Ahsoka was here, and that he could talk to her before confronting Mara. But he needed to know. He knew he couldn't trust Mara, but she knew it. He could feel it.

"Very well. I'm going to talk with Miss Jade. Keep me posted."

"Aye, Your Highness." She said, giving him a curt nod.

The brig was a small compartment, with only room for four cells. Mara's was the only one with occupants, with ray shielding between her and the outside world. A trooper stood with a blaster rifle, snapping to attention as he came inside.

"Trooper, wait outside." Luke said, using the most imperious tone he could muster.

The soldier nodded, and said, "I'll be right outside, Your Highness." She said, as she sealed the access hatch behind her.

Luke walked to the cell, and he sat down on the bench that sat between the cells.

Mara was sitting on the cot in the cell, holding a ration bar in one hand. She had a look of disinterest on her face, as if not noticing or not caring that Luke was there.

Luke let silence hang in the air for a moment before he produced her lightsaber. It had a solid casing, with a shroud over the blade emitter. The bottom of the saber was ridged, so that its wielder could have a solid grip. There was something else about it. Even for how well-kept the saber was, it seemed old. Older than Mara, even. "This isn't your lightsaber." He surmised.

That seemed to get the attention of Mara. "What makes you say that, Your Highness?"

"This blade is older than you are." He smiled softly. "It doesn't look like an assassin's blade, either."

"No," Mara smiled thinly. "It's a soldier's weapon. A relic of the Clone Wars." She set her ration bar down, and asked him. "Would you like to know who the blade belonged to?"

Luke felt a little tremor in the Force, and suddenly he had an idea who it might have belonged to. "Anakin Skywalker."

"Very good." She said, with a wide smile on her face. "The Emperor slew Anakin Skywalker, took the lightsaber from him, and has kept it ever since."

"Why give it to you?"

"The Emperor saw my potential in the Force. I am his Hand, Prince Charming. His personal assassin. He raised me to be his weapon. So he gave me the lightsaber of the finest warrior the Clone Wars saw."

Luke should have walked out of the brig, left her to her own devices. "Who was my mother?" He had to ask.

"Padme Amidala." She tilted her head to one side, gauging Luke's reaction. He felt his own emotions begin to unravel, a lifetime of wonder, curiosity. The Organas had given him a family that had never made him want to know anything about his birth parents. Whoever they had been, Luke hadn't sought them out. Bail and Breha Organa, along with his sister, were all he needed.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "She was a Senator, one of Bail Organa's contemporaries."

"Indeed. She was one of the founders of this little rebellion you've started. When the New Order rose, she was a Senator from Naboo. The Emperor wanted her arrested, for he knew she carried the child of Anakin Skywalker in her. She went into hiding, while it seems you were secreted away to Alderaan. She was found by the Emperor's agents, and killed for her treasonous activities."

Luke felt a warm crackle or rage. He wanted to lash out at her, to hit something for what she was saying. She was talking about the murder of his mother so casually. "When did she die?"

"Almost a dozen years ago. I was not there, instead being raised by the Emperor." She smiled. "Luke, the Emperor is wise. He can see help you. Understand the true nature of the Force. You and I, we are linked. Don't you know that?"

That sent a spike of ice through him, and all rage billowed away quickly. "What did you say?"

"We dreamed. We both shared that dream, and we both know it." She stood up, placed her hand near the ray shielding keeping her in the cell. "I would have liked to have met you through entirely different circumstances, Luke. Maybe at a ball like the one we dreamed of."

Luke stood up, walking so close that if the shielding hadn't been there, they would have been able to close the distance in a step. "What do you want from me?" He asked, his voice strained to keep from trembling.

"Luke, take me to Coruscant. Let the Emperor show you power and how to use it. He has seen you in the Force, and he wants to help you."

"To what?" He whispered. "Murder and subjugate?"

She shook her head. "Luke, before the Empire, we had a government so fractious and weak that it couldn't even keep corporations in line. Now, we have a safe and secure Empire. Those wars the Emperor wages, it's to end slavery, to drive the Hutts out of power, to see to it that no one ever has to live under the whim of a whip."

That was all Luke needed to hear. "Tell that to my father Bail in prison, and my mother who's living under martial law." He hissed, and walked over to the brig. He hit the wall comm so the trooper on the other side could hear. "We're done here."


	20. The Nest

The Nest, as it turned out, was constructed from a gargantuan asteroid. There were several ships orbiting around it, including the _Providence_ -class dreadnought that seemed to loom like a large, slumbering beast.

"It's even longer than some Star Destroyers," Wedge remarked as they watched out of the viewport of the _Firestorm_ 's bridge. "The smaller classes, at least. The newer ImpStars still outsize it."

Luke crossed his arms across his chest. "We start the fight of our new wars with the weapons of the last." He looked to the comm officer. "Do we have a transponder reading for the tags on the dreadnought?"

The comm officer checked with her screens for a moment. "Aye, ship reads as _Rebel One_."

" _Rebel One_ , huh?" Wedge smiled just a little.

Commodore Serrin shrugged. "We've got a flagship now, at least. Helm, would we be able to dock at the Nest?"

After a moment of checking, the helm officer shook her head. "Negative, we'll have to take a shuttle."

Luke looked over to Wedge, then back to Serrin. "Wedge and I will fly our X-Wings over, the Commodore can take the shuttle. I think Alliance HQ should see what our prize is."

After a half hour, they had landed their ships on one of the hangar decks of the Nest. For its size, the Nest was well-equipped to service multiple ships and transports, with six hangars that Luke guessed could each service two squadrons. The Seperatists, when they had been using it, could have probably fit more, but that was the benefit of using droids.

As Luke popped the hatch for his X-Wing once the docking was secure, he saw that someone Luke supposed was of importance was waiting for them. He was a dark-skinned human, wearing a high-collared uniform complete with a cape. Luke wondered how quickly Serrin would get jealous of someone who was outdoing her in terms of flamboyant garments.

Luke slid out of the X-Wing and tucked his helmet under one arm. He approached the man, with Wedge approaching from the other direction. "Hell of a place you've got here," Wedge called.

"Well," The man's voice was smooth, confident, and utterly charming. "It was quite the find. Lando Calrissian. I technically own the Nest."

"You own the Nest?" Luke inquired, unable to hide the disbelief in his town. "How did that come to be?"

"Well, Galactic salvage law has always been an expertise of mine, but I generously donate its use to the Rebel Alliance. Besides, they gave me a nice title for it. Governor Calrissian. I oversee the Nest and all its mining and production."

"Mon Mothma must have been feeling generous," Luke remarked. "I'm Luke Organa, this is Lieutenant Antilles."

Luke extended his hand, but instead of shaking it, Lando took his hand and bowed slightly, kissing the knuckle of his glove. "Your Highness, then, welcome to my humble facility."

Luke felt a serious flush touch his cheeks. "Thank you,"

Wedge shot Luke a look that told him that all of Bandit Squadron was going to get on him later.

Serrin's voice piped up from behind them. "Well, who's this scoundrel? Since when are capes in fashion?"

Lando arched an eyebrow, as if anticipating a challenge. "Well, I don't think Imperial-cut uniforms are particularly in style at the moment among the Rebellion."

Serrin made a sniffling noise and she crossed the distance between them. "Has Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis arrived?"

Lando nodded. "We've repurposed one of the old miner's mess halls as something of a meeting place. It's not exactly the Senate halls on Imperial Center, but it's working well. We've even had several delegates from other parts of the Galaxy."

"Lead the way, then, Governor Calrissian." Luke said.

Engineers took some of the pilot's gear from Luke and Wedge, leaving them in their blue jumpsuits. Lando led them through the facility, during which Serrin and Lando discussed the Nest. The station itself had a number of old mining droids, which were reactivated and deployed from shuttles that the Sepeartists had left when they abandoned the station. They could harvest materials from the dense asteroid field around the Nest, giving a steady supply of a number of raw materials.

By the time they reached the meeting hall, Luke was itching for some caf. The last few days had been a mess. He didn't remember if he had slept for more than a couple of hours at a time. The conversation he had had with Mara weighed heavily in his mind. He wished that he could ask either parent of his for the truth.

Or Ahsoka. She was still off on her recruitment mission, and Luke had been following orders to observe radio silence until the Alliance's new communication could be set up.

He grabbed a mug of caf, noting that it was just as bad as the stuff on the _Firestorm_. Luke wondered if they could get the Toprawa Caf Company on their side in the coming war, for morale purposes. He set that thought aside as Mon Mothma brought the meeting to order.

Luke moved to the front of the meeting area, dressed in just his pilot's suit. He didn't match many of the other dignitaries, who were dressed in what would have been garb more suited for the Senate, instead of the converted mess hall they now occupied.

"I thank you all for coming," Mon Mothma began, her voice as calm as ever. She had the ability to keep everyone hanging on her words without sounding imperious or boisterous. The only other person that Luke had seen with that ability was Queen Breha.

"Our nascent Alliance has just taken the first steps. Between Lando Calrissian's generous find of this base, and with our new flagship, we have something resembling a fighting force. However, the fact remains that we must gather popular support. With the Empire's campaigns in Hutt Space, we have to use the situation to our advantage. For this, we have gathered here to discuss the formation of an actual government, of a Council to help administrate and direct our efforts."

This went on from some time, as each representative introduced themselves. Luke faded out, only standing and bowing politely when his own name was called. His mind drifted, wading in and out of the discussion with fading interest.

About an hour into discussions on different governmental structures for the Alliance, Luke's comm link hummed. He excused himself, and once he was in the hall, answered it. "Organa here."

"Luke," Winter's voice said. "You asked me to notify you when Ahsoka returned with the _Riptide_. She's inbound now, Hangar Three."

"Thanks." Luke whispered. He turned off the comm, and he started towards the hangar, getting directions from a maintenance droid on the way. As he traversed the length of the station, he felt something bubble in him, something he hadn't felt before.

Had Ahsoka known? The thought of it sent a spark of rage in him, one that he knew a Jedi shouldn't harbor. But it still festered in him.

He was waiting in the Hangar when the sleek shape of the _Riptide_ landed. Maintenance crews started to attend to the ship, which bore several scorch marks on its hull. Luke wondered just what trouble they had seen wherever Ahsoka had been.

It was a few minutes before the hatch opened and two figures descended down the boarding ramp. One of them was Ahsoka, who seemed to have just a bit of paleness to her usual coloring. She looked tired, exhausted. The other was an old man, with a white beard and a stout, hard look to him. Luke recognized the face, though. It was one that propagated all around Imperial Command. This man was a Clone.

"Ahsoka," Luke's voice softened, the conflict in him set aside for worry for her state. "What happened?"

"Imperial troops. It was a long run back here to shake them off." Ahsoka headed down the boarding ramp. The two of them embraced for a long moment, and Luke took a second to just remind himself that Ahsoka was his friend. He had missed her. "You look well."

"Enough for wear." Luke took a step back, then looked to the Clone. "Luke Organa." Luke held out his hand for him.

"Rex, formerly Captain Rex." He extended a strong arm, and they firmly shook hands. "He's the one you were telling me about?" Ahsoka nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I had the pleasure of knowing Bail Organa. Fine man, a shame what the Empire's done to him."

"That's what this is all about." Luke gestured to the hangar in general. "The Empire's horrendous actions must be put to a stop. The representatives are meeting now to talk about governments and the like." He turned to Ahsoka. "I need to brief you and talk about some of the developments we've had."

"Of course, Luke." Ahsoka smiled. "Rex, talk to the quartermaster. They'll set you up with some accomodations."

"Sure thing, Commander. I mean, Ahsoka." Rex smiled a little. "Old habits die hard."

"Of course they do, Rex." She playfully slugged his arm. "Good to have you back."

They left the hangar, and Luke started to walk Ahsoka back to the hangar with the shuttles back to the Fleet. "The Mission to Fresia was a success." Luke said.

"I saw some of the X-Wings flying a CAP on the way in. Commodore Serrin's enjoying her new toys."

"And with the research team recovered, we'll be able to use the Nest's facilities to produce more X-Wings. But we also picked up a prisoner. Mara Jade."

Ahsoka froze in her tracks, and she stared at Luke for a long moment. "The Emperor's Hand we've been encountering?"

"Took her down on some temple world. She's sitting in the _Firestorm_ 's brig. I just have one question, Ahsoka. Did you know who my mother was?"

She looked down at the ground for a long moment. She sighed, and nodded. "Of course, Luke. Who do you think was the one who brought you to Alderaan?"


	21. Revelation

They went to a small room, a mining workshop that wasn't presently in use. Broken droids lined the walls of the shop, their lifeless cases presently stripped of programming. Luke wondered if they would just be stripped of parts. A little tug at him wondered if there would ever be a point Artoo would be so forgone. He didn't think on it much. Instead, he leaned back against a table with tools on it, facing Ahsoka.

Ahsoka placed her hands across her chest. Luke hadn't ever seen her this tired before. "So," She sighed. "What do you want to know first?"

"What happened when I was born?"

"The Emperor knew your mother was pregnant," Ahsoka explained. "At the end of the war, a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious killed the Jedi. He had a failsafe implanted in the clones, a biotechnical control circuit. He had a code planted deep inside of them, and used them to hunt down most of the Jedi. But there were some, like General Kenobi, who survived. Kenobi and your mother traveled to Mustafar to confront Darth Vader, Sidious's apprentice."

"Vader is the Emperor, though," Luke said.

"We're getting ahead of the story," Ahsoka said. "Patience, Luke. Kenobi went to fight Vader, but as they fought, Senator Amidala was wounded. Her droids were able to carry her to safety, and they fled to a mining colony. Obi-Wan…Obi-Wan was struck down by Vader, and Vader killed Sidious, making himself Emperor. He went to hunt down Padme, who had already gone into labor.

"That's where I came in. The Jedi were gone. All the Council. Master Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Yoda. I only escaped the massacre because I ha left the order. But Senator Organa knew how to contact me. He summoned me to Polis Massa, and I arrived to see your mother, Padme, with two children, a boy and a girl."

Luke froze. He felt a chill in the Force, one he couldn't explain. He hadn't ever thought that he could have had a sister. "What happened next?" He said, the first question out of a score that popped into his head.

"Vader's personal legion of troopers, the 501st, attacked the facility. I…I wasn't strong enough to be what your mother needed. We were split up on the way to the landing ships. Padme took your sister to Naboo, and Bail and I were able to escape with you to Alderaan. The Empire couldn't track my ship, but I wasn't able to find your mother. Bail suspected that Padme went into hiding, but the Emperor was too strong, his spies too many. Five years later, we got reports of the Empire subjugating a rebellion on Naboo. The Queen was killed, and the capitol was put to the torch."

Luke stared for a long moment, and his mind swirled. What was he supposed to say next? What was he supposed to do with this? He had a twin sister. His voice was small, almost timid as he asked. "Do you know who Darth Vader is?"

"The Emperor was a powerful Jedi, seduced by the dark side of the Force. He was lured to it by Sidious. I don't know how long he was a Sith before the end of the war." Her voice faltered a moment. "I wasn't there to save your father. I…I should have been. But I left him. I didn't have a choice, but I left him. And he died." Tears formed in Ahsoka's eyes. "It's why I've always been there, Luke, I had to. I couldn't save your parents, but I swear I won't ever leave you."

Luke didn't see his teacher, or his bodyguard in that moment. He only saw the woman who had first taught him how to hold a blaster, who had shown him how to see the Force in all things. The friend he had known for his entire life, even if she was in the shadows. He walked to her in two quick steps, embracing her.

"Ahsoka, don't ever let yourself believe that you weren't there for me. You've been more than enough." He held her, and the two of them shed tears, silent as they embraced. "Thank you for telling me all of this," He said, finally.

His friend and teacher ruffled his hair slightly. "I should have told you earlier, but there was never a right time."

Luke nodded. "I understand." He pulled her lightsaber from his belt. "This is yours."

Ahsoka smiled. "Thank you. I heard about your action on Fresia. And your encounter on that jungle planet."

"Indeed," He said, and produced another lightsaber. "This was the weapon Mara Jade was carrying."

This, Ahsoka took and examined it. "This is Anakin's lightsaber." She whispered. Her eyes widened, and she shook her head.

"This isn't right," Luke said. "Why would the Emperor give his Hand a dead man's lightsaber. Why would he give her my father's weapon?"

"Maybe he was sending a message." Ahsoka whispered. "It also means Miss Jade doesn't have a lightsaber of her own."

Luke hadn't considered that. "What does that mean, though?"

"The Emperor hasn't trained her as a Jedi. Or even a Sith. Luke, I'm going to go talk with our friend Miss Jade. Head back to the talks. I'll get back to you later."

Luke nodded. "Of course. I'll be ready for you."

They embraced again, and Luke went to return to politics.

The meeting hall was still just as full as when Luke had left two hours before hand. The delegate from Ryloth was speaking about the work camps that the Twi'lek population were forced to endure. Luke had suffered at the hands of the Empire, but not to the extent that the people of Ryloth had. A planet that had been fought over for years, and when the war had finally stopped, massive industrialization, forced down the people's throats to feed the Empire's war machine.

The next few hours were much of the same. Luke had kept quiet through it. He didn't have much to say. He was not a law-maker. He had been his father's attache and a diplomat, but he only had experience as a learning observer to the senatorial process. The end result of the talks was the agreement that the Alliance would be ruled by what was to be called the Provisional Council. Mon Mothma was the leader apparent of the Council, though Garm Bel Iblis and Cham Syndulla were likely to feature as well.

It was to Luke's surprise, when his datapadd informed him that he was to close the ceremony for the day. He had known that to at least be a possibility, but he hadn't expected them to do it. When it was Luke's turn to speak, he felt two things that he should have been conflicted on. He felt fear in him, of the unknown, of being plunged in so deeply. But he also knew, from reading on Padme Amidala for the last few days, that she had faced the same struggles and had been even younger.

He took his spot at the small podium, and spoke, keeping his voice clear, but not raising it. It was how Bail Organa always spoke. Bail and Breha both had raised him for this, and he knew that this was what he was supposed to do.

"I was born under the shadow of the Empire's New Order. I was a war orphan taken in by my parents. The Empire took them from me, like so much else. My father rots in an Imperial detention center, and my mother is a prisoner in her own home. Like my parents, as a child of Alderaan, I was taught to embrace peace, to never raise a hand in violence unless I had first opened it in kindness. But I was also taught that tyranny will not back down just from words.

"Many times in our galaxy have we gone to war to protect others from evil, to preserve our freedom. Alderaan is a planet of peace, but we are protectors as well. Our histories are stained with the blood of tyrants, freedom fighters, and innocents alike. I know in my heart that to see the evil of the Empire disbanded, we must all rise together, and be prepared to make sacrifices. If the situation calls for it, I would gladly die for a chance to see my home free, to see that not another soul has to fear an Emperor. But I am also willing to fight. I will fight for my home, I will fight for this Galaxy. And I truly believe that if we stand together, worlds will see that the Empire is not the only answer. Thank you."

There wasn't applause, but there was a murmur of agreement. After a long day, it wasn't time for a grand celebration. There would be celebrations and mourning ahead. This was just business.


	22. Secrets

The prison cell in the Nest, as the Rebels were calling it, was far less comfortable than the one on the _Firestorm_. Here, Mara didn't even have a proper cot, just a sleeping roll laid out in the small space she inhabited behind the ray shield. The scenery hadn't even improved, just a bulkhead a few meters beyond her cell. This had been an ore storage compartment, she guessed at some point, but for now it was just a head and a sleeping roll. She got meals twice a day, but that was it.

Mara passed the time with exercise. There was only so much you could do in a confined space. In the eternal day of a space station's illumination, it could mess with a biological clock. Constant light, no concept of the passage of time, could disturb even someone who had lived as a space traveler her entire life.

She had her first visit in several days. It was a Togruta, the Jedi outcast Ahsoka Tano. Mara sat up, still slightly sweaty from pushups. Mara went through everything she knew about Ahsoka in a moment, like rifling through a file on a datapadd.

Mara arched an eyebrow at the older woman. "Ahsoka Tano, formerly Jedi Apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic, and rebel insurgent codenamed Fulcrum."

The Jedi crossed her arms across her chest. "I can't say I know that much about you in return, Miss Jade."

She smiled at Ahsoka, trying it on for size. "What do you know about me, then?"

"You're a Force user, that much I know. But you're not as skilled as others I've met. Are you an Inquisitor?"

"That's grand," Mara laughed. "No, by no means am I an Inquisitor. I'm something much more." She enjoyed the dynamic here. Even if she was behind a ray shield in a cell, she was by no means playing without a full sabaac deck. "I'm Lord Vader's hand."

"His..Hand." She arched a brow, intrigue peaking on the white markings on her head, mimicking the raise of an eyebrow. "Not an Apprentice."

"Lord Vader has an Apprentice, and a powerful one." Mara remarked. "I am his personal envoy, his will made manifest, and so forth. His assassin."

"But my apprentice whipped you pretty good," Ahsoka's little smile, her taunt, made Mara's blood boil, but she recovered quickly. She would not allow the Jedi to gain the upper hand, especially in such a Sith tactic as _dun moch_.

Mara decided to play the game then, tossing down her Idiot's Array. "Lord Vader's child, even untrained, is a great warrior."

Ahsoka's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed as she walked right to the ray shield. "You don't know a thing," She hissed.

Mara smiled. "On the contrary. I know that Padme Amidala bore twins. One of them, she took to Naboo. Her name was Leia. The other, Luke, we did not know about until Prince Luke was unveiled as he came of adolescence. You hid him for over a decade, Ahsoka, be proud of that."

She could see Ahsoka tense, hands curling into fists. "How long has the Emperor been watching?"

"You hid him. He knew of his existence, but it was your actions on Mustafar that drew his gaze. He doesn't know, Ahsoka. Didn't have the heart to do it?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "He's not old enough. I was going to tell him when he was ready."

Mara scoffed at that. "He's in a rebellion now, and helping lead it." She leaned back against the wall in her cell. "One you can't hope to win without help."

The Togruta frowned. "What are you saying?"

"The Empire is planning a big operation. Apparently a punitive measure for your nascent rebellion. The details have been kept from me, but you should look into it."

Ahsoka looked down at her. "What's your agenda, Jade?"

Mara smiled, her own face her best mask. "Just look into it. You'll see I'm not lying."

Luke found a military uniform to be a complex idea. Being raised on Alderaan, he had long preferred the styles of his homeworld with bright colors and sweeping formal wear. The tight cut and high collars and sleek lines of military garb weren't something he was used to. But now he wore what Lando and Garm Bel Iblis had decided on for a new uniform that would see production for the fledgling Rebel fleet. It was a tan affair, with a jacket and trousers.

The notable thing was that Luke lacked rank insignia. After a day or two of debate, Luke hadn't been given a rank. Instead, he was given the nominal position of command of Task Force Red, which didn't actually have a single being assigned to it. Instead, it would be a makeshift unit for whatever emergency that the Alliance had to take care of.

They were on the bridge of _Rebel One_ , a large room that had over a score of officers working at different stations. The engineering crews were hard at work trying to restore the ship, to bring it back up to fighting shape after years of abandonment in the asteroid field.

Rex stood across from him at the other end of the holotable at the rear of the bridge, which spewed out sensor data from the dreadnought's network. The once-clone commander wore a loose jacket the hungover his bulky frame, with a blaster pistol strapped to his thigh. "I've seen two or three of these ships in my time. I remember one of them was tasked with attacking Thyferra. One of those, several smaller cruisers, and a _Lucrehulk_ control ship. Battle lasted three weeks. We won the battle but we couldn't crack either the battlecruiser or the command ship. The Seppies made them tough."

Luke had other thoughts on the mind, though. "Why did you come here, Rex?" He asked.

"When the Empire rose, most clones stayed with the military. We're soldiers, not much else better. Empire kept using the clones, though they started varying up the templates. I didn't want to keep being a solider. I just decided to get out while I could. Opted out, like every clone had the option to after the war. Most just didn't take it."

Ahsoka and Serrin walked in, with Mon Mothma following a few minutes later. The elegant Chandrillan woman began. "Miss Tano has information for us."

"Indeed. And I think I have a mission to follow it up with." Ahsoka entered a few commands on the console as she spoke. "I have reason to believe the Empire wants to make an example of us. They don't want to just stamp out a cell or two, they want to make a very public example. But what that is, we don't know yet." A planet with two moons came up on the screen. "Celtris IV. It's not a particularly noteworthy world, even for all the trade routes it lies on. The moons operate some small spaceports, but the main feature is an Imperial base on the planet.

"It's a hub for Imperial Intelligence. They operate a major listening and coordination post on the planet. We're going to infiltrate it, see if we can find the Empire's deployments for their upcoming project."

Mon Mothma looked over to Luke. "Do you think you could assemble a team to infiltrate it?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. We've got the _Firestorm_ , which still has Imperial codes on it. We can use the codes to land a strike team. Infiltrate the base, use Artoo and Winter to gain access to the Imperial networks. From there, we download every fleet movement we can, and try to draw a pattern."

"That works." Ahsoka nodded. "We should be able to use a small team to get in."

Rex raised a hand. "I'll volunteer for the strike team."

Luke nodded. "I'll be glad to have you on board. For a strike team, myself, Ahsoka, Winter, Rex, and Artoo would be small enough, I think." Luke looked down at the planet. "What's the name of the facility?"

"The Lusankya complex," Ahsoka said.

Luke nodded. "We'll keep the _Firestorm_ on standby. We can have Wedge's Red Squadron ready as standby in case things go hot. Any chance we could requisition a gunship or two for standby in case real trouble shows up?"

Mon Mothma. "One corvette and the _Valiant_ would certainly be doable."

A smile crossed Luke's face. "Alright then. Let's go raid Lusankya."


	23. Transition

Luke hadn't expected to hear from Mara Jade again so soon. Indeed, she had asked for him, and here he was answering her call. He wasn't sure what he should have expected, but the Emperor's Hand intrigued him, and not just from an intel standpoint.

He was down in the prison block, Mara still the only inhabitant. The hit and fade tactics of the Rebellion that Bel Iblis and Serrin were championing did not leave much time or supplies for snatching up prisoners.

He approached the cell, looking down at the woman there. Mara wore just a simple jumpsuit, her long red hair kept loose. She looked paler than Luke remembered, but he supposed captivity would do that to anyone.

"Your Highness," She sensed him before he spoke, and she sat up from her supine position on the floor. "I hear you're taking on Lusankya."

Luke tried to hide his surprise. "The guards are talking too much," He sighed.

"No, no, your guards are fine. In fact, I merely had guessed at it. Your reaction confirms it, though. It was the most likely target that your intelligence networks would dredge up. It's the most active outpost outside of Imperial Center."

Luke crossed his arms across his chest. "Get to the point, Mara," He said, his patience running thin. He didn't want to play games.

"I want to go with you."

That got Luke laughing, more honestly than he had in a long while. He couldn't believe it. "No. Absolutely not."

"I figured as much, Organa, but I have a proposal for you." She stood up, dusting herself off. "I have a very good memory. Not as good as your sister Winter's, I'm afraid, but mine has a quite extensive knowledge of Imperial procedures, computer codes, and I do have a bit more knowledge of the Empire's internal security."

Luke looked at her, trying to ascertain if she was serious. It just seemed too absurd. "There is no way I could ever trust you," He said, his voice quiet.

"That is unfortunate. Maybe I can offer you some advice, then?" Mara asked.

Luke sighed. "I'll take it under advisement."

"Lusankya is helmed by one of the Empire's finest. You'll be in for one of my Lord's finest agents."

Luke crossed his arms. "Why do you care? Why do you want to come?"

"Because, Luke," She said softly. "I have no stake in this Empire. It's war mongering, vile, and brings out the worst in its leadership. I only serve my Lord, and he has forseen that you two will meet some day. It is in my interests to see you are delivered to him, when the time is right."

Luke looked at her for a long moment, disbelief in his eyes. "You can't be serious."

"Yet you know I am."

Ahsoka stared at the manacled Mara Jade. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," She groaned.

Mara gave the Togruta Jedi a wide smile. "Please, I'm only here because I want to be helpful, Ahsoka. You'll of course recognize the extreme discomforts that I'm enduring for this agreement."

The shock collar on Mara's neck was, in fact, Luke's idea. He didn't trust Mara as far as he could throw her. She knew that all too well. It didn't matter to her whether Luke trusted her. She would help the young Jedi to see reason. She would help him infiltrate Lusankya, she would help him find Grand Moff Tarkin's plans for retaliation. She hated the dithering old man, and she knew that even now, he prepared whatever foolhardy mission that he planned to use to inspire fear.

Mara was prepared to sacrifice Tarkin for the Emperor's vision. Vader had raised her with the view of the Cosmic Force, that fate was inevitable. He had seen his son in the Force, and from that moment, the plan had been formed.

She was deposited in her cell, back in the Firestorm's brig. She had her cuffs removed, but the shock collar remained. She moved to the bunk, and sat on it, folding her legs beneath her.

It took her a half hour of meditation, before she could tap into her master's voice.

 _I am here, my Lord. All is proceeding as planned._

She only felt a ripple in the Force, an acknowledgment of her message. She only felt a warm feeling, and she knew that Lord Vader approved of her plan.

When Vader had discovered his son, years after learning of his first child, he had shared with Mara in her training in a moment of open thought. The Rule of Two, he had realized, was useless. The Force had shown him that when two children had been given to him, both of them strong in the Force. The Sith would be larger than two, a family.

Mara had been a part of that family, and despite her feelings, she knew that her goal was to return Vader's son to him. When he was ready.


End file.
